SODUS, N.Y.— Reliant Community Credit Union said that as the school year concluded it was able to donate sneakers to area schools for the third year in a row through its Feet Forward project. Reliant donated 450 pairs of high quality sneakers to five area school districts throughout the 2018-2019 school year, to be given to children in need in those communities.
The donation equals an investment of $10,000 from Reliant, which partnered with Fleet Feet in Rochester to purchase the sneakers at a discount. That partnership enabled the credit union to purchase even more sneakers than would otherwise have been possible.
Since the inception in 2017, Reliant’s Feet Forward has donated 1,100 pairs of sneakers—a total investment of $25,000.
“At Reliant, we strive not only for financial wellness for our members and our communities, but also for overall wellness,” said Cynthia Hamann, VP-retail awareness for Reliant. “We are proud to be able to make these contributions, and we are thrilled that, through programs like Feet Forward, we help hundreds of children in our communities."
A guidance counselor involved in the distribution of sneakers to students told Reliant that kids who received the sneakers were “so proud and just over the moon.” She shared that one student who received a pair of sneakers this year who said, “I’m so lucky—the nurse doesn’t usually have good shoes and tell you to keep them.”