18 Dec Two Ten Footwear Foundation’s Annual Dinner and Auction Raises $2.3 Million
Two Ten Footwear Foundation today announced that its 74th annual dinner and auction chaired by Tim Belk, Belk, Inc., brought the community together in an evening of footwear philanthropy and raised $2.3 million in the process. Held December 4th at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York, the renowned industry charity event was attended by 1400 footwear people.
“It was a tremendous night, filled with energy and fun for the community,” said Neal Newman, president of Two Ten Footwear Foundation. “We welcomed 50 new sponsors, which was significant because over the past year, Two Ten distributed a record number of relief dollars to footwear workers in times of need.”
Each year at the annual dinner, Two Ten Footwear Foundation recognizes two members of the footwear industry who exemplify community service and philanthropy. This year, Joe Ouaknine, CEO of Titan Industries was presented with the A.A. Bloom Award for his unwavering commitment to furthering the mission of Two Ten; and Mandy Cabot, co-founder, president and CEO at Dansko received the T. Kenyon Holly Award for outstanding humanitarian achievement.
In her acceptance speech, Mandy Cabot remarked, “To me, Two Ten is a place where we can connect as colleagues, not competitors; to strengthen and celebrate our footwear community. No other industry supports its members the way Two Ten does—as a springboard in good times, and as a safety net in bad.”
Two Ten 2013 Highlights
Over the past year, Two Ten has impacted the footwear community by:
- Distributing $1.8 million to footwear families in crisis, a 31% increase in relief dollars over the previous year.
- Awarding $750,000 in higher education and professional development scholarships to members of the footwear community.
- Providing counseling and referrals to local community resources for additional assistance.
- Uniting 68 footwear companies and over 3,000 footwear volunteers across the country in a first-ever, industry-wide community service program called Footwear Cares®, helping local charities serving families and communities.
- Launching the Footwear Warriors Scholarship Fund
, an endowed scholarship fund earmarked for U.S. Veterans returning to the workforce after serving the country. - Hosting networking and development opportunities to thousands working within footwear through career affinity group meet-ups, conferences, mentoring programs and special events.
To see video and photos from the dinner and auction or for additional information about Two Ten Footwear Foundation initiatives, please visit http://www.twoten.org.
About Two Ten Footwear Foundation
Founded in 1939, Two Ten Footwear Foundation is the footwear industry’s national charitable foundation — the only foundation of its kind in the United States. Two Ten is committed to strengthening America’s footwear community by providing emergency financial assistance at times of crisis; college scholarships for footwear employees and their families; community building opportunities; career affinity group networking; and other social and career services.