Every Kid Deserves to Lace Up

How New Shoe Day Is Building a Shoe Secure Indiana

We were at one of our early shoe events, handing out brand-new pairs of athletic shoes to kids in the community. One young person sat down, opened the box, looked inside, and then looked up at us and said, "I've never gotten a pair of shoes in a box before."

That sentence reframed everything. We were not just giving away shoes. We were stepping into a space where something as fundamental as a new pair of shoes in a box was a first. That moment changed our entire outlook on why we exist and what our potential impact

could look like.

It also gave us language for something most people have never thought about: shoe insecurity. Shoe insecurity is the ongoing inability to access adequate footwear to meet daily needs. It is not just about one worn-out pair. It is a pattern of unmet need that compounds over time and touches every part of a young person's life.

In Indiana, one in six children lives in poverty. That’s nearly 250,000 children. For families stretched between rent, groceries, utilities, and medical bills, a $50, $60, or even $80 pair of name-brand shoes is the thing that gets pushed to next month. And then the month after that. It is not a lack of love. It is a math problem with no good answer. A child wearing shoes two sizes too small is not focused on the lesson at school. That child is thinking about who is looking at their feet, pulling back from the moments where kids are supposed to feel free and included.

Here is the thing most people miss: one pair of shoes is not enough. Not when kids are being kids. Kids grow. They develop. They play outside. They want to try out for a team or join a club. And, in Indiana, we live in a four-season state. What a child needs on their feet in July looks completely different from January. Those needs do not pause because a family is struggling financially. They are constant, and they are constantly going unmet.

That reality is exactly why a single shoe giveaway cannot solve this problem. Shoe insecurity is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing challenge that requires an ongoing solution.

We think about our impact on a scale of thriving. At one end, we are meeting a fundamental need. A child literally needs shoes to walk into school, to play outside, to get through the day. But as you move along that scale, something deeper happens.

A new pair of shoes becomes a source of confidence. It becomes a gateway to participation. It becomes the thing that helps a young person feel like they belong in the room, on the court, or at the starting line.

We do not just serve shoes for a physical purpose. There is a real social and emotional dimension to what a new pair of shoes unlocks. Kids who feel good about what they are wearing engage differently. They raise their hand. They show up to practice. They walk into a room like they are supposed to be there.

When you meet a basic need with dignity, you open the door to everything above it on that scale.

New Shoe Day started in 2021 as a group of volunteers who wanted to do something good in the community through the power of a new shoe day. There was no master plan. Just a belief that every kid deserves to know what it feels like to open a box of brand-new shoes. We did the work, we learned, we iterated, and we kept growing because the feedback and demand made it impossible to slow down.

Once we realized we had built a real answer to an unmet problem, we started thinking critically about sustainability. That is when we formalized our Shoe Bank operation: a centralized warehouse that supplies new, name-brand athletic shoes to a growing network of community partners who run local shoe pantries. Today, New Shoe Day operates as Indiana's Shoe Bank, having delivered more than 11,000 pairs of new shoes to youth across the state through over 50 partner organizations, including YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, school systems, shelters, mentoring programs, and community foundations. We currently operate 12 shoe pantries as well.

The Shoe Bank model is what makes this sustainable and what sets us apart. Shoe events, or as we call them “Shoe Drops,” are a valuable part of the solution, and we still host them with partners across the state. But when a community is ready to go further, a shoe pantry takes shoe insecurity off the table entirely. When a school counselor notices a student in worn-out shoes, they can walk to their pantry and solve that problem the same day. When a child outgrows their pair three months later, the pantry is still there. When winter comes, and a young person needs something different from what they wore all summer, the supply is ready. Whether through events or pantries, every community gets what works for them, and the shoe bank keeps it all running.

Our operation creates sustainable impact for families, for communities, and for the organizations that serve them. Grants, corporate partners, donors, and sponsors help power this work so that shoes keep moving to the kids who need them. Every pair we distribute is new, and every pair is a name-brand that kids actually want to wear. Dignity lives in those details.

In January 2026, I became the organization's first full-time staff member after five years of building this alongside an incredible board and volunteer team. We are expanding our services across all areas of the state, fielding new partner inquiries every week from communities that want to bring this to their kids. The demand tells us everything we need to know: this work matters, and it is far from finished.

I have three kids: a seven-year-old, a five-year-old, and a three-year-old. Being a dad fuels this work every day.

Every parent wants their child to walk out the door feeling confident and ready. For some families, that comes naturally. For others, it is a daily battle against circumstances out of their control. New Shoe Day exists to close that gap.

Our vision is an Indiana where every young person is shoe secure. Where no kid sits out because of what is on their feet;. Where footwear is never a barrier to participation, confidence, or belonging. We are building that reality right now, one community at a time.

If something in this story resonates with you, trust that feeling. You can sponsor shoes for a local school or community organization. You can connect us with your company or network. You can volunteer at our warehouse. Or you can simply share this story with someone who needs to hear it.

Every kid deserves a New Shoe Day.

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Photos courtesy of and written by Casey Crouse