Delaware nonprofit finds new life providing free Shoes That Fit to students

Earlier this year, Joanne Glauser didn't know if her organization would have a future.

"Without getting some more support in Delaware, it could die with me," Glauser told Delaware Online/The News Journal around the winter holidays. She was describing her chapter of Shoes That Fit — a nonprofit that has provided free shoes to any Delaware students experiencing homelessness since the late '90s — in a story that published in the New Year.

But someone was listening.

"We had been talking within our board meetings about trying to find something tangible that we could hang our mission on — because to say that we support children, young adults and first responders in the state of Delaware isn't really all that sexy, right?" said Jeff Leggett, president of the nonprofit charity Friends of Fusion Foundation since its inception in 2019. "We kept going back to the idea of sneakers."

After one such board meeting in February, founder Nic DeCaire set to searching. Almost immediately, the former fitness center owner in Newark found the article about Shoes That Fit.

"We didn't know Joanne, but when you do something for 26 years, you know you're passionate about it," DeCaire said. "And we knew she was probably the right person to reach out to. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel. We just wanted to help children."

Fusion partnered with Glauser to finish out the school year. This spring, the team said they fueled shoe donations to over 600 students facing homelessness across all three Delaware counties. And they're not done yet.

This summer, they're setting out to support all of the nearly 3,300 students living homeless across the state by next school year, with a free pair of name-brand sneakers. That translates to a goal of about $100,000 to raise throughout these warmer months , according to organizers. As of late June, they've raised about $41,000.

And it's about more than shoes.

Flashback: Next steps unclear for Delaware nonprofit aiming to give students 'Shoes That Fit'

Why should anyone care?

"I think people would be amazed at the things, that we might consider minor, that stop a child from going to school," April Anderson, Red Clay School District's liaison for special populations, told Delaware Online/The News Journal earlier this year.

Some barriers would be obvious, from transportation to school when displaced, to assistance while awaiting foster care placement or getting the next meal. Others are small, like what to wear.

"Everybody looks at people's shoes," DeCaire said. "And if you're in a classroom full of kids, and you notice one person's shoes are really old or really dirty or have holes in them — kids might make the assumption that they're struggling, right? And by eliminating that, it puts them on the same playing field."

From back-to-school events and resource closets, to this continued fundraiser and steady partnerships with schools, Shoes That Fit and Friends of Fusion Foundation plan to pick up the mission Glauser and her husband started in 1999. That will start with funding new shoes for every student without a stable home.

Districts throughout the state face their own totals to support, making up nearly 2.5% of all public school students, or around 3,400 in 2022, per National Center for Homeless Education figures.

Glauser is still in search of more partnerships, particularly in Sussex County. Soon, she might be comfortable to step away in retirement.

"I just feel like the stars aligned," she said, thinking of this spring. "But to serve all of the homeless kids in Delaware? I've never been able to do that before."

Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01 .

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware nonprofit finds new life providing free Shoes That Fit to students