Two Ten Footwear Foundation Awards $870,000 to 310 National Scholars

Two Ten Footwear Foundation Awards $870,000 to 310 National Scholars

In its 46th year, program has helped defray education costs for 6,353 students with close to $20M in scholarships.

Reinforcing its long-standing tradition of promoting higher education and professional development, Two Ten Footwear Foundation — the footwear industry’s national charitable organization — today announced that after a receiving a record number of applications, 310 students will be awarded a total of $870,000 in scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year.

The scholarships, provided yearly to eligible footwear employees and their families through the generosity of Two Ten’s donors, have helped make college education and professional development opportunities more affordable for students nationwide since the program’s inception in 1969.

“Obtaining a college degree has become part of the American Dream; however, the soaring cost of higher education can leave students and their families with crippling debt,” remarked Debbie Ferrée, Vice Chairman and Chief Merchandising Officer of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, Inc., member of Two Ten Footwear Foundation’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Two Ten Scholarship Committee. “Two Ten understands the value and importance of investing in the education of the next generation. As a strong advocate for affordable education, I’m very proud to be leading Two Ten’s scholarship and education initiatives.”

Two Ten offers footwear employees and their families higher education scholarships to two or four year undergraduate programs based on financial need, academic ability and personal promise. In addition to Two Ten’s traditional scholarship offerings, the Footwear Warriors Scholarship Fund was established in 2013 to promote vocational and higher education among US military veterans who are employed or returning to work in the footwear industry following a tour of duty. Four Veterans are receiving awards this year. In 2014, National Shoe Travelers (NST) established a new higher education scholarship fund and ten scholarships will be provided this year.

“Hundreds of shoepeople and footwear companies have donated millions of dollars over the last 45 years to help make a college education available to everyone who works in the footwear industry. This is a truly remarkable expression of who we are as an industry and what we believe in,” said Neal Newman, President of Two Ten. “The more we grow our unique array of college and professional education scholarships, the more our footwear community thrives.”

About Two Ten Footwear Foundation
Founded in 1939, Two Ten Footwear Foundation is the national charitable foundation of the footwear industry. We bring shoepeople together in times of crisis to support each other and to build a sense of community that ensures a bright future for our industry’s workforce. We provide emergency financial assistance, scholarships, counseling services and community building programs that changes the lives of thousands of shoepeople in the United States every year. For more information, please visit www.twoten.org.