Category: Making A Difference

Making Kicks Count: New Balance donates kicks to children in need

Brandon King

When Valley Unified food director Melanie Lagasse saw there were some students in her schools that had a need for some footwear and reached out to a major company to help. Lagasse wrote a grant and donation letter to New Balance and the footwear company responded by donating 92 pairs of new shoes. “They picked the shoes; I just had to go get them,” Lagasse said So Lagasse traveled to the New Balance factory in Norridgewock to get the shoes. She says the distribution process to the children will be…

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Making Kicks Count: Gym manager suprises member with Down syndrome with new shoes

Brandon King

CJ is a Planet Fitness member in Woonsocket , Rhode Isalnd who showed up at the gym to work out in boots ( which apparently is against their rules) instead of sneakers. Gym manager Daniel Cote decided to do something about it that did not involve just putting him out. He found out CJ’s shoe size from his caregiver and actually went to athletic store and came back with a brand new pair of Under Armour sneakers for CJ. Here is what his caregiver posted to social media after this…

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Making Kicks Count: Missouri children get free kicks for Angels of the Hardwood

Brandon King

Earlier this month, Yander Law Basketball, The Basketball Movement, and the Pat Jones Family YMCA joined forces to host Angels of the Hardwood , a free event whose goal is , according to Yander Law’s website, “to make a difference in the lives of children and let them know that people care. At the event, over 100 pairs of sneakers were given away to local children. Event co-organizer Rob Yanders said, “It is all about giving back to our youth in our community. It is about making people really feel…

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Making Kicks Count: Damian Lillard donates shoes for “Kicks to Beat Cancer”

Brandon King

Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard is donating a pair of signed shoes for the “Kicks to Beat Cancer” initiative, which is part ESPN’s V Week for Cancer Research. Lillard, along with a host of NBA and WNBA players have donated shoes that will be auctioned off to raise funds for the V Foundation. From the ESPN press release pertaining to the event: Kicks to Beat Cancer (Nov. 26-Dec. 6): ESPN commentator and professional athletes are putting their “kicks” to good use by reaching into their extensive shoe collections…

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Making Kicks Count: Florida man donates hundreds of sneakers to local children

Brandon King

Since 2005 Jason Roberts has been a collector of Air Jordans and other Nikes and in that time he built a collection that was hundreds of sneakers deep. While renovating his West Palm Beach home a few months back, he had an epiphany while looking at his collection.     “I felt that there are kids out there that can put them to better use to them than I can,” Roberts said. Jason spoke with a coach at Jeaga Middle School in West Palm Beach and asked him if any…

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Michael Jordan gives out free kicks in his hometown

Brandon King

Today, Michael Jordan returned to his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina to spread some holiday cheer. Hornets owner and 6-time NBA champion Michael Jordan handing out Thanksgiving meals to people in his hometown of Wilmington, NC who were devastated by Hurricane Florence. Jordan previously donated $2 million for hurricane relief. pic.twitter.com/vrTknjWGHP — Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) November 20, 2018   The nearly universally recognized  basketball GOAT spent the day handing out Thanksgiving meals and then he chased that by stopping by the Wilmington Boys and Girls Club where he surprised some…

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Making Kicks Count: Cardi B hands out sneakers at Brooklyn housing complex

Brandon King

Last month rapper Cardi B gave out hundreds of jackets and sneakers at a Brooklyn housing project. She had this to say about the drive at the Marlboro Houses to CBS News: We have to set an example for the kids. Sometimes people think that we just do the messed up things but we really… care for the kids and our community and everything. The entertainer was gifted a symbolic key to the Marlboro Houses for her efforts.

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Making A Difference: Sneaker Stock Market Organizers Collect Shoes for the Homeless

Brandon King

Last month sneaker enthusiasts from the Bay Area and surrounding locales come together not only for the usual buying, selling and trading but also to help the less fortunate.   Organizer DJ Kay Rich had this to say of the philanthropic aspect of the sneaker event: So people who have gently worn sneakers that they are trying to get rid of we collect those as well and take them to the Poverello House and give them to communities.  

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Making Kicks Count: Upstart sneaker brand looks to make impact in local community

Brandon King

Davi is new sneaker brand founded by former Nike director Gabriel Williams that seeks to make a difference in its community. I really feel like business should play a key role in supporting the communities that support it. At davi, we always say it, like me and the team, we’re just more than a sneaker company. We really want to build a brand that encourages and empowers people. Williams said in starting this company, he wanted to sell a sneaker that would help the local arts, music, and sports programs.…

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Making A Difference: Vic Mensa and his organization giving away 13,000 pairs of shoes in response to bait truck fiasco

Brandon King

As news of the CPD’s and Norfolk Southern’s underhanded attempt to use a bait truck sting to put more people in the system, made the national rounds, Chicago native and rapper decided to do something in response. Mensa and his organisation , the SaveMoneySaveLife Foundation, have collected over 13,000 pair of shoes. These shoes will be given away free to attendees at the West Englewood Community Center, which sits on the same block the infamous bait truck was placed. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmy-r51AQZ2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Donations to this cause can be made via SaveMoneySaveLife’s Amazon…

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