ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Caleres (NYSE: CAL) has announced a $1 million donation to Soles4Souls to help provide shoes for homeless children through the 4EveryKid program, it was announced today by Diane Sullivan, chairman and CEO of Caleres, and Buddy Teaster, CEO and president of Soles4Souls.
The donation will be paid from the Caleres Cares Charitable Trust over two years, including a $500,000 monetary donation and $500,000 in-kind product donation. The in-kind donation will include athletic shoes for homeless children just in time for back-to-school this fall. Additionally, Caleres brands including Famous Footwear, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer and Sam Edelman will support the 4EveryKid campaign through a round up at checkout option online during the month of September.
The first product donation to the 4EveryKid program will happen this summer and will benefit children in St. Louis, where Caleres is headquartered.
“There are more than 17,000 kids experiencing homelessness in the greater St. Louis region of 15 counties and 854 public schools. This donation will help us reach every single one of them to make sure they have a new pair of shoes to start school this fall,” said Teaster. “When we approached Caleres with our vision around this program, they didn’t hesitate. Their donation will help us work directly with St. Louis area public schools to give them the support they need to help kids prepare for their first day of school.”
“Our mission is to inspire people to feel great…feet first,” said Sullivan. “While we often do that in spirit, this program gives us the opportunity to do that literally. Buddy and the Soles4Souls team do incredible work and we are thankful for the opportunity to join them in supporting an extraordinary program right here in our own back yard.”
