There are a lot of barriers they're facing. We've had kids come to us and say, Hey, I've never gotten a pair of shoes in a box before.
No way.
Yeah.
Whatever the new shoes are when you're going for your new job, that is just a powerful feeling that you feel like you can conquer the world.
I love bold ideas.
Get in the arena, right? Mm-hmm. To do anything even close to ignoring, it was not an option.
When a kid laces up a brand new pair of shoes, what's the first word you hope that they feel? From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between. This is Get IN, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today.
I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Hey there. Before we jump into today's episode, I wanna take a minute to thank the folks that made this nonprofit Spotlight series possible. Elements Financial is a credit union. They're a not-for-profit financial institution.
Built on the idea of empowering individuals to achieve financial success and they've been doing just that for 95 years, starting right here in Indiana. Now they're based in Indy and proud to support Hoosiers, but their reach goes way beyond state lines. They don't just talk about Impact. They live, IT Elements teaches more than 1000 financial wellness classes annually.
They pay their employees to volunteer and they donate 1% of net. Profits to causes that improve lives. So yeah, it made perfect sense for them to back this series because when it comes to supporting people doing good elements cares, learn more at elements.org/getin. That's elements.org/getin and use code getin Elements Financial, like a bank only better federally insured by NCUA.
Now let's get into this special nonprofit spotlight episode presented by Elements Financial. My guest today is Casey Crouse, and he is the founder and executive director of New Shoe Day, Indiana's Shoe Bank, New Shoe Day aims to end shoe insecurity for Hoosier youth so every child can move, participate, and thrive with dignity and confidence.
In 2025, Casey was nominated for Emerging Leader of the Year by the United Way of Central Indiana for his impact in our community. Additionally, Casey has a rich history with IU Dance Marathon, and I'm excited to dive into that a little bit later. Casey is a near and dear friend of mine. He actually helped me get into running long distances.
Oh my gosh. At this point, maybe like five or six years ago. Mm-hmm. So this is gonna be a really fun episode to dive into all things New Shoe Day and Casey Crouse. Welcome to the show, brother.
Yeah, thank you, honor to be here and, and I, I want to make sure to mention just that I'm, I'm really proud of you, man.
You're, you're a good friend and like you said, we've got kinda some rich history and through running, you know, we've, we built a friendship and I've seen this dream come true for you and, and the work you put in. And I, and I joke, you know, the moment I met you and we exchanged numbers, your, uh, I, I took the green battery emoji and that is what comes up on my phone.
Every time we talk and, uh, it is a perfect depiction of, of Nate Spangle. So
what a guy
well done buddy.
This journey is one that has made a huge impact in central Indiana and Indiana, and honestly across the country in a few different ways as well. And it all links back to running as a big piece of it.
Mm-hmm. Like through all the people that we've met through New Shoe Day, through the run clubs, through all that fun stuff. But your journey with Impact starts a little bit younger. Mm-hmm. While you were a, a young, let's say young adult, there have been a few very pivotal moments in your life that led you to a life of service and philanthropy.
And I'd love to start by identifying the moment in your life when you realize that. Your time on Earth is, is limited, and going out and making a big impact is super important. And what drove you to want to be a pillar of the community that that is focused on giving back.
Like anything, it's pretty crystal clear in the rear view when you start connecting the dots.
And I'd, I'd like to think that all of this I planned out from the age of 17, right? That I was very intentional. But I think that, you know, certain influences definitely had a, had a piece of that. But, you know, really the root of the story is, um, you know, I, I grew up in a, in a great home. Um, I had a nose for the ball.
I was a ball player growing up, uh, addicted to the game, a baseball and basketball. And, uh, in high school I was dead set on playing college baseball. Um, I have an older brother and, and an older sister. And when I was 17, uh, and in high school, my sister, she was 21 at the time. She, uh, was down at Indiana University, uh, phenomenal human being, uh, leader of all leaders.
Her her reach and her impact and influence, uh, as a young individual was, I mean, it was extraordinary.
You were 17 and she was 21?
She was 21.
Okay. And how old's your brother?
Uh, he's six years older than me, so, uh, at the time he was
So, you're the young buck, you're the young, I'm young. Buck the young baseball star that's still in Carmel while your, your siblings are off doing their thing.
Yep, yep, yep. And you know, at the time pretty focused on oh, baseball and, and my life. But, uh, we were very, very close as siblings and, and my sister Ashley, she, she definitely had a thing for a younger brother from a mentoring and just kind of guiding standpoint. So she was extremely important to me. But, uh, it actually, so in two, in 2005, she was down at Indiana University.
She was an executive council member with IU Dance Marathon. She, uh. She had been running for student body president down there. Uh, she had been student body president at Carmel High School too, and she was there, uh, but she was tragically killed in a, in a car accident on campus, um, right after a dance marathon meeting.
And, uh, you know, the, the, the earth just kind of time stopped when that happened.
Yeah. Do you, you're a 17-year-old high school kid mm-hmm. And you get this tragic news. Do you remember the moment where you were, how that happened?
Oh, I can replay to some of the most smallest details possible around, yeah.
Around that time. So, uh, yeah, I mean, in, in the, in the, in the world of trauma, that one, that one stuck for sure. And, uh, remember, you know, a lot of the vivid details, a lot of the moments, a lot of the conversations, the things you hear and see, and, uh. Yeah. It sticks with you for sure.
Yeah. Your sister Ashley
mm-hmm.
Had not just a lasting impact on you, but the entire Bloomington, Indiana University community as a whole, and continues to still Oh yeah. Be a large part of that.
Oh, yeah.
Talk to me about the outpouring of the community down in Bloomington on the heels of this tragedy.
You know, when she passed away, as I kind of mentioned, uh, time stood still, the campus, uh, entirely.
I mean, you're talking tens of thousands of students kind of rallied around, um, celebrating her legacy, uh, at that moment in time. And really, you know, showing our family a lot of love at, you know, her funeral. There were thousands of people at it, which is, you know, as a 21-year-old individual, you, you, you just don't think about that.
And, but then in those moments, you think about the reach, uh, that someone like that had. It was. Pretty remarkable.
You think about like storied community leaders that are 80, 90 Yeah. Like really old and, you know, lines out the door. But to, to be 21 years old mm-hmm. And to have impacted that many lives in 21 short years, that thousands of people Yeah.
Would show up and like, they probably never bet you or your family, but they were moved and, and impacted by your sister.
Yeah.
That's incredible.
She, she was powerhouse. Uh, you know, and, and kind of on the, the dance marathon scene, one of her goals that she had as uh, when she was in college was to start a dance marathon at her high school that she went to Carmel.
So she didn't get the, the opportunity to, to do that unfortunately. And so, you know, being 17 at the time and, and in high school. Uh, that was a trajectory changing moment for me. And
were you a junior or a senior?
I was a junior when it happened.
Yeah. Okay. So you're a junior.
Mm-hmm.
And your sister's goal was to start a dance marathon at Carmel?
Yeah.
And never achieved that. Uh, she ends up getting plugged into IU Dance Marathon and then all this happens. And is that the light bulb moment for you of
I definitely part of it, yeah. Um, on the, kind of, on the heels of that, I was able to, um, kind of start and launch with some other student leaders at Carmel Carmel Dance Marathon in, in her honor.
Honor quickly rose to be the largest high school dance marathon in the country, but
like, while you were still there?
Yeah.
No way.
Yeah.
So you're a junior. Mm-hmm. Carmel had not had a dance marathon. Were there lots of high schools at the time with dance marathon?
Yeah. A decent amount. Uh, we started it, uh, my senior year.
The following year? Yeah. Uh, so that was, that was a nice, uh, you know, thing to do. Okay.
Was it, uh, spring or a fall semester?
It would've been spring semester. February of 2006 is the first one.
Okay. Yeah. February of and and what, when did your sister pass away?
She passed away in April of 2005.
So less than,
mm-hmm.
A year later.
Mm-hmm.
You put together what ends up being, at the time, one of the largest high school dance marathons in, in the country.
Mm-hmm.
Talk to me about that day and like just the impact and how that made you, your community, your family. Mm-hmm. Like everyone coming together and pulling this thing off.
Like, were there highlights from that day that you still remember
Carmel High School? 4,000 students. Right. I mean, that's a, a, a large subset of students to pull from, but pull from, but we had, we had 500 dancers that year. So in a very short amount of time, even the high school rallied around celebrating her legacy and
an eighth of the student body.
Yeah.
Is there dancing?
Yeah.
Like that's pretty impressive, especially at a school like Carmel.
Yeah.
For those that might not know what is dance marathon and what does that support?
Dance marathons are student led year long philanthropies that run at, uh, you know, colleges and high schools. And typically the fundraising and awareness efforts that the students, uh, do are centered around, uh, pediatric healthcare in their, in their community.
So in Indiana, that's heavily tied to Riley Children's Hospital and Riley Children's Foundation. So, uh, and within that, kinda the heritage to the dance part is that the entire year long philanthropy culminates with an event that's called Dance Marathon, and that could be. A half a day, or in the case of like IU Dance Marathon, it's 36 hours long.
And throughout that you are both celebrating the mission, the the families and the kids that you're supporting the hospital. Uh, but then to keep people engaged, uh, like, you know, the dancers and participants, the students, uh, they will learn a line dance throughout the entire marathon, the 36 hour marathon or whatever.
And then it culminates with, uh, you know, a pretty elaborate line dance that, that all the students put on. Yeah.
How long was the, uh, the first Carmel High School dance marathon?
It was eight hours, I believe.
I mean, and so people are like moving and grooving and doing like, there's activities happening for eight hours straight.
Oh,
yeah. And it, but it, it's all, it's all tied back to, uh, the mission, which, you know, in, in Indiana that's, that's for the kids at Riley. So everything you're doing, FT, KFTK, everything you're doing. Throughout that eight hours is, is centered and pointed at, you know, celebrating the kids
after this first experience in, in, you know, large scale philanthropy with the Carmel High School Dance Marathon, your plans start to change.
Mm-hmm.
Obviously you had been, you know, all dead set on going to play college baseball, uh, but you end up rerouting that path. What was the thought process that, that got you to maybe put your previous dream to the side and pursue a new dream?
I loved my sister so much and to see the, the rallying cry around her and then this legacy that was blooming in front of us, uh, in the wake of her passing, you know, I had a high level of involvement in that and obviously there was a strong pull to go to Indiana University and, and continue to, uh, help shepherd that legacy into, to new growth and, and new impact.
And so. Yeah. You know, I set the, the baseball dreams aside, if you will. I wasn't like extraordinarily amazing or anything. Um, maybe would've gotten some, some minis, you know, D two or Walkon somewhere. But, uh, I love the game.
Yeah.
Uh, but it turns out, you know, my life had a, had a different plan in store and, uh, you know, in, in terms of any priorities in life, family's number one.
And, uh, you know, to have the opportunity to go to iu. Celebrate her and, and build a community around that was, uh, you know, it, it was, it was bittersweet. You know, I think all of all this to say, it's like, if, if I could, uh, play it a different way, I'd, I'd have it go a different way. But, uh,
you'd be hitting home runs, right?
Like Absolutely. Totally. But you, you show up down in Bloomington and mm-hmm. Know that you're gonna get involved with Dance Marathon there. Mm-hmm. And I, I think, don't quote me on this, but I'm, I'm eager to, to find out, I believe that the IU Dance Marathon found a couple spectacular ways to keep your sister's legacy, uh, involved with the marathon, even after her passing.
And as you went through your four years there, what were the ways that you still felt her presence and her impact on the IU Dance Marathon?
The Marathon celebrates it as the ALC legacy, Ashley Louise Crouse. And so when she passed away, and, and let me even preface this with. IU Dance Marathon started, um, in honoring the legacy of, of Ryan White here locally, which is a, you know, there's a rich Indiana history story there.
And what he did as a, as, as a young student leader, um, you know, was in incredible as well, considering what he was going through and in a very, very similar way. You know, his, his friends and his community wanted to celebrate him and, and the type of person and character he was. And so, IU Dance Marathon has always been in honor of Ryan White.
And then when Ashley passed away, uh, it became in honor of Ryan White and Ashley Louise Crouse. So, uh, there isn't a, a piece of apparel or a piece of marketing or anything like that, uh, associated with IUDM that doesn't also have, uh, Ashley's initials on it, which is really neat. But then, you know, throughout the year, they, they, they dedicate an entire week to, to Ryan and Ashley and celebrating their legacies and telling the stories.
And, uh, and things like that. But, you know, those two individuals, what, what, uh, their legacies do, you know, maybe most importantly is, is they really, they set an example and they set a tone towards, uh, any student participant that's walking in there to say, you know, like, you as a student, you have the ability to make an impact and, and, um, do some amazing work in this world, like these individuals did as well
at the time, like 2004, 2005.
How was, uh, IU Dance Marathon on a national scale? Like how, because I know it's obviously not a competition, but you do want to be the best, and I know they always put up all those different numbers, like you get all the kids and they started adding more and more commas and they raised a ton of money.
Like today in 2026, I'm sure they're set up to raise more money than ever. Yeah. Back then where did, where did they fall in, like the national, um, relevance of IU Dance Marathon?
Yeah. So even back then in, um, it's similar today, they were the largest, uh, dance marathon in the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals network.
No way.
So there's one other marathon, uh, out of Penn State called THON uh, supports their local hospital, and I think they've got maybe 10 to 15 years on IU Dance Marathon. Yeah. So they're bigger. Uh, but as far as the CMN network, uh, iu uh, even back then was, was the largest. And, and I believe still is. So, you know, my.
Freshman, sophomore year we were raising, um, just over a million dollars. And, uh, the year, let's see, would've been my, my junior year, 2009, I had the honor of being president of the organization At that time. We raised 1.52 million,
which is incredible. Yeah. One, it's a huge honor for anyone that doesn't know, like to get to be the president of that org is like an incredible responsibility, a ton of leadership, and to like help put the team together that raises.
Over one and a half million dollars as a junior in college. That's, that's big, big dog money. Yeah. Like, that's incredible. So, so cool. Today, like 2025, what was the number they raised?
Yeah, they're well over 3 million now on a consistent basis. And, uh, that's
crazy.
Yeah.
And it, it, they're. It's super professionalized and Yeah.
You know, there's turnover every year. So the, the continuity and consistency that these students have, it's, it's running a business on top of being a student and having classes and all that.
My, uh, my cousin, hunter Haynes was really Yes. Involved with, with the Instagram. I know
Hunter.
Yeah. He's great. And like, I would just see you on like Instagram and stuff.
Shout, shout out
Hunter.
Like this thing was, is a behemoth of a fundraiser. It's incredible. And you think about
yeah,
other nonprofit orgs all around the country or around the state of Indiana. It's like getting to that, that $1 million mark is like, yeah, it takes a lot of doing. And to get to. 3 million plus as college students.
That is so, so impactful.
Yeah.
And so you go from the president of IU Dance Marathon, you end up graduating from IU Bloomington moving up to and, and end up in, in Indianapolis. At some point in this journey, you are, you know, you're involved with Edge Mentoring and a few other, you know, local nonprofits, but this initiative to really make a difference in our community starts to take hold of you and Trevor Dewitt.
Mm-hmm. Take us to the, the moment that you guys started, not necessarily to raise a bunch of money, but. To get out and learn more about our community.
We're gonna fast forward a little bit. There's, there's, but, uh, you know, it, it centers around, you know, and you kind of mentioned it. I, I love to run, I'm an endurance athlete, if you will.
Right. Uh, in, in my,
he's saying that lightly, like you finished Leadville twice, which is a hundred mile race, uh, out in Colorado, like one of the most famous ultra marathons you've done. Oh my gosh. If we want to get into like, like that race that you guys just did is also crazy. Like Casey is. I would say as elite, as a normal person can be at, at being an endurance athlete.
And if anyone that remembers, we just had Melli on the podcast not too long ago, like they are in the same circles, running around like incredible Miles, Casey convinced, not even convinced me, but like supported me through my first Ironman and has been a great resource as I've gotten into ultra marathons as well.
So, uh, I don't wanna sell you short on the, uh, the feats that you're doing after you were like, I dunno, you spent like almost a decade doing Ironman, like doing triathlon. Like he's a, he's a legit endurance athlete.
So one aspect of that is that somehow my path with, with the endurance world has, I've kind of created an a knack at leveraging that to spread awareness and.
Maybe even funds along the way about things that, um, you know, I think need some awareness and education around. So when I was doing the Ironman kind of scene, I was actually using some of those challenges to build a community of other folks to take on challenges and we were. Leveraging races and our efforts to raise money for Riley.
Okay.
So you, you kept Riley as the mission that you were fundraising for,
if anything? Since graduating iu I've only leaned in on Riley harder and
because I think, are you still on the board of the Riley's Children's Foundation?
Yeah.
Yeah. So,
yeah,
which is incredible. How long have you been doing that?
Seventh year.
Heck yeah. I love it, man. Yeah. So you were getting more plugged into the Riley network. Yeah. You were doing these races and tying that all together. And you probably have seen, uh, like listeners, you know, when someone's running the New York Marathon or they're running monumental mm-hmm. And you partner with some local organizations, you can, you know, you're doing these miles not only to stay healthy and not only challenge yourself, but for something, something bigger and which I think is such a cool tie in of bringing your passion, of helping the community with your passion of pushing yourself to the absolute limit.
Got a little wild in, in 2020, so. If we remember the, the summer of 2020, right. Um, pretty volatile time, just everywhere. Uh, and as a runner, uh, you know, when you're in the depths of COVID and, and everything is, um, kind of up in the air, uh, all of our races were canceled. And, and you and I both know we're part of a running community and, you know, it's like, oh, what do we do now?
Type stuff. But at the same time, you know, it was not just the, the sickness that our community was facing and, uh, it was incredible unemployment. Uh, we were on the heels of the murder of George Floyd and a lot of racial injustices getting exposed in our communities and, and in our backyards there were riots.
Yeah. Uh, and, and even in indie and, uh, I can get pretty charged up about stuff like that, especially when it's my own community and with races being canceled and, and things like that. I thought, how can we, you know, maybe shine some positive light on, on our, on our world right now? And, and maybe how can I leverage.
Running or the running community that I'm a part of to, to help take part in that. So at the time I was working at at Edge Mentoring, which was a nonprofit focused on, uh, mentorship in, in the young professional space through intergenerational relationships. I can still say it all.
There you go. Yeah.
That's how, you know it's a good mission statement.
Yeah, exactly. Um, and I was working, uh, uh, with alongside Trevor Dewitt who, um, you know, he's, he's an ops guru. He is a great guy. Uh, he's out in Colorado now. But, um, you know, I was feeling charged up at the time and I, I actually, I gave Trevor a call and I said, Hey Trevor, I think I wanna do something centered around bringing our community back together through running.
And he is like, well, what's that look like? Right? I'm, I'm more visionary. He's more like, how do we get this done? What's that look like? Uh, so I set out on a challenge, um, so, you know, kind of an endurance feat in its own. And, and the, the idea was, uh, I wanted to connect the city back together through running by running 10 miles a day.
For a hundred straight days through new neighborhoods and streets of Indianapolis. Um, with the whole, that, that was it. Like that's what I told him. I said, I wanna start tomorrow. And like, he's like, I'll help you figure out routes and, you know, any complexities associated with that, but sounds good. Let's go.
And so go to bed that night thinking, you know, oh, I gotta run a thousand miles in the next couple months. Um, but let's do this. You know,
hold on. So you come up with this great idea and you say, I'm gonna run 10 miles a day for a hundred days on a hundred different routes.
Mm-hmm.
Like, you're nev you're not just like crushing 10 miles on the Monon a hundred days in a row.
It was a hundred different routes across the city of Indianapolis.
Yeah. Yeah. There's a, there's a cool visual, uh, I should have brought a picture of it, but kinda what a thousand miles looks like on feet.
Uh,
I,
yeah, we gotta see that.
Yeah.
So day one, you go to bed. Mm-hmm. Or like, day zero, you go to bed and you wake up the next day and you're like, Alright 10 miles.
Like, how did you pick the first route and Yeah. Was the initial thing like, you're gonna do the solo or is like Trevor, like, oh, I'm, I'll help you plan it, but I'm not gonna run this with you.
Yeah. It a little bit of both. I, I would say we entered day one with a lot of unknown. I don't even think we had the name of what we were, 'cause we, part of it was let's document this and, and share what we're seeing Yeah.
Across our community, just so people can lay eyes on like, you know, their, their own neighborhoods and, and their neighbors. Um, because we were addicted to kind of the, the news reels at that time. So, uh, we called it 1001 City. That's kind of what it was called. We gave it an Instagram handle, and then I, uh, I made a promise to blog every day about it.
Just, just write what was seen and, and heard and, and, and things like that. And just share. Kind of the beauty of Indianapolis. Um, and then if we would meet people along the way, uh, maybe that would also foster some storytelling as well. And that's, that's ends up becoming the core component of 1001 City at the time.
But to your question, uh, you know, I knew I was set. I was, I was doing it. I was doing a thousand miles like day after day I was gonna get it done, but, uh, I wanted to be extremely inclusive so anyone could join on any given day. Trevor had just gotten into running actually, like, not too much earlier than that, and he's like, oh yeah, you know, I can, I'll hop in on some days and I'd love to do this.
Uh, Trevor ended up running a thousand miles. Yeah,
the, that's how you know the, uh, just like one good friends and good people. It's like, oh yeah, I might like join in here, there, and then they see it and they're like, I can't stop. I have to keep going.
And you know, we had, we had. Several other folks. I mean, there would be days where I'd be maybe running alone or, or with Trevor.
Uh, but then there'd be days where 10, 15, 20 people running with me and we had individuals that ran over 500 miles.
No way
doing that.
Uh, to put it in perspective, Indianapolis, according to the central Indiana Transportation Authority, Indiana or Indianapolis has 4,800 miles of roadway.
Yeah.
And so by hitting a thousand of them, you almost hit a quarter of the paved roads within the city of Indianapolis.
Feels like a race unfinished
that I, I feel like you might need to get the other 3,800. That's crazy. So where was the first route, day one, like where did you go?
Started downtown, hit the square. Uh, you know. Uh, we were down at the monument, kind of laid out 10 miles, uh, down there.
Yeah.
We stayed within the loop, um, is kind of how it went down.
Yeah. Uh, so 10 miles each day
throughout that journey, a hundred days in a row. What did you uncover about the city of Indianapolis and where all, like you were going anywhere? It wasn't just like staying in your own neighborhood or north side or downtown. Yeah. You went everywhere.
Yeah. Oh, we, we were, we were everywhere.
And you know, my favorite thing to do, I, I get this from my dad, is to talk to strangers. Like, I, I love it anywhere I go, um, you know, I get caught up just talking to folks and lose, lose my family. Like, I'm, I'm, they're off doing something and I'm just catching up with someone that I've never met and so
I'm just catching up with some That's a, yeah, that's a Hoosier line right there.
Just catching up with someone I've never met
when we went out on these routes and, you know, and you're, you're in the dead of summer. A lot of people are outside and we're outside and someone might see me or me and a handful of people running and, you know, nearly every single time people are like, Hey, what are you doing?
Yeah. Especially like, let's just say you are in, uh, maybe a community that's not used to having 20, 30 something year old white guys. Yeah. Running down the neighborhood. Oh yeah. They're like, Hey, what are you, where, what are you running from? Or what are you doing here?
Yeah. Whatever misconceptions folks might have about, you know, playing that story in their head.
Kindness is always the first thing we always saw. Like, it, it just, it, people were just curious, like, what are you doing? It's like, oh, you know, I'm out on a run. And, you know, eventually you just start asking each other questions and you'd be surprised at where it goes. Yeah. And, uh, that's, I mean, for this podcast, it, that's, that's the beauty of Indy.
Yeah. And Indiana. It's just, that's like the culture here. So
are there any conversations that you had in your journey? Through a thousand miles and a hundred days across the city of Indianapolis that still stick with you today,
we would start meeting people. We were telling the stories. And, uh, you know, over the course of this, you know, there were times where we were crying with people and there were times where people were praying with us.
Uh, we saw one woman twice in two different parts of the city. No, we met, yeah. Shaa was her name. I'll never forget her. Uh, her like, we'll never forget her. It, it, and the, the fact that that happened was like remarkable.
Yeah.
Uh, to a degree.
Did she happen to be at the exact same place where you were running the second time?
Yeah.
And like, oh man, there's those guys that are running.
Yeah. Uh, unbel. I don't know what the odds are of that, but then there's, there's definitely some meaning there. I, it's, it's really cool. So, you know, but we would, we were talking to these folks and, and just, they'd share what's on their mind, right?
They'd, you know, it's like, what's going on? You know, what's on your mind? Why, why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? And, uh, you know, we'd get into it like, but it was very healthy dialogue with. With everybody. Yeah. And you know, at times maybe they're celebrating something at times, maybe they're telling, uh, what's a struggle they're facing or, you know, uh, an opinion they had and stuff like that.
And if, if you're just leaning in with questions and curiosity
Yeah.
You know, it's usually a great outcome. And that's exactly what we experienced, uh, each and every time that happened. And
then you were going home and blogging about, like, today I met, you know, a, a young man that was dealing with X, Y, or Z or that was happy that he got a new job or whatever it might have been.
Then the magic turned up. We, we were about a third of the way through the project and it's going extremely well. And, and kind of the, the local audience of it was, uh, they started to like, kind of crave it a little bit more. Uh, but I was losing sleep because we'd meet these people and then we'd just, we'd just leave.
And, you know, I wanted. Somehow for like, you know, some sort of stickiness factor there, uh, to say like, if we're gonna meet these folks, you know, how can we make an impression on them that lasts?
Yeah. Because there's one thing to learn and amplify the story, which is important as someone in the media space.
Like amplifying the story is important, but then there's the other piece of when there are challenges and issues, like if you're a true community champion, it's hard to just learn about all these things and then not
Yeah.
Be able to solve them. Yeah. Or help out in any way.
Yeah. And you know, I don't know if we were in any position to solve anything, but the one thing we were leaving out, up to the, you know, kind of a third of the way through is just like, what's kind of like a random act of kindness we can, we can do with these folks?
And, uh, that's how New Shoe Day that's how New Shoe Day started. Yeah. Uh, was in the middle of that project.
So what was the first random act of kindness you did on your journey through a thousand miles in Indianapolis?
You're wearing the logo of the first, that's V1 of New Shoe Day logo,
the og.
And as runners we would show up to, you know, it, and this is kinda ubiquitous across life, uh, but in particular with running at the time when you show up with a, a new pair of shoes on.
You know,
you feel good.
Yeah. What else do you feel?
Powerful?
Anything else?
Confident?
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, keep going down the list, right? Yeah.
I mean, and like for people that aren't runners, 'cause we do have some listeners that aren't runners. Yeah.
Totally.
Think about when you're a seventh grader.
Yeah.
And you toss on your new gym shoes, let's
go.
That have never been outside and that you only wear during gym class and like, you maybe got like the good brand
Yeah.
And you're like, oh, I'm about to drop three air balls in like a brick layup on this, in this PE class. Yeah. But you're gonna look good doing it.
Yeah. Yeah. And, and I have the pleasure of talking about New Shoe Day every day now, but most conversations I'm talking to with folks where it's kind of net new, a story of a new pair of shoes comes to mind for them.
Yeah. You know, as a kid or maybe you're on a fitness journey, uh, or maybe a new pair of shoes for work or something like that. I mean. You, you, you throw some new kicks on you, you feel different. You're, you feel fresh, you're ready to throw down as a runner. Like, like
you, you ever heard that song? I'm walking on sun?
Like, that's just was playing like, and I'm just strutting.
Yeah,
you're just strutting.
Yeah. And so as runners we thought, you know, and we would actually, we kind of irregularly had kind of dubbed New Shoe Day when we'd show up to group runs before that. And, uh, we said, you know, like, what if we could, uh, what if we could give people that feeling that we're meeting?
Like what if that could be our random act of kindness? Like, we're a group of runners. Could we give folks a New Shoe Day? Right? And then it's like, oh, well what do we do? Like we can't carry around shoes. Right? So what we did was, I, I bought like a hundred plastic water bottles off of Amazon. We took that logo that I think I made on like clip art or something.
Uh, made some stickers out of it. Threw the sticker on the water bottle. And then we threw a note in the water bottle that just said, Hey, here's what a New Shoe Day means to us, and we want you to have that same feeling. You, you deserve it just because we met you. And then we would cobble together like two bucks or seven bucks.
So like, we had no method to this, and we put in the water bottle and then we would meet these people, we get to know 'em, and then kind of right before we depart, we'd just be like, Hey, you know, just wanna let you know, like, uh, this was really great connecting with you. I know we're strangers, but, uh, we're a group of runners and we're trying to bring this city back together.
And, uh, we love the day we get a new pair of shoes and it gives us really good feelings. And, you know, as we leave talking with you, we want you to have those feelings. And so we'd give 'em a water bottle with that in it, and they'd open the note, they'd read it. And um, you know, that was extremely magical. I told you I was storytelling this like along the way.
The moment that we did that. Very shortly after, uh, the community started to send us money
after you, it's like, just like looking back, you're like, oh, water bottle with a note in seven bucks. Like,
thanks. Yeah.
But like this does show that it doesn't always have to be like this grandiose million dollar massive check to make positive impact and just the motion of $7 in a water bottle and a sticker gets like that muscle going and then people want to start to be a part of it.
And people want to Yeah. Support people that are trying to make a positive impact.
Yeah.
So the community gets around and starts to give you money to then
Yeah. It total, oh crap moment. We were like, whoa, whoa. Didn't expect this. Um, but it, people were saying, go do more like, this is amazing. Go, go do more.
Go shine a light on indie and, and do. So we, we really quickly threw it into a GoFundMe and then, you know, started to flex a little bit of a muscle of like, well, let's actually ask the community to support this more. Um, by the end of the a hundred days. Uh. We had raised, I think like total like 10 grand.
Um, we had, we had like four or $5,000 left over at the end and we, we wrote a check to the Monumental Kids Movement and, and gave them a New Shoe Day. We were like, this, this is for you, you know, empower your kids through running and use with it what you will.
And so you finish up the 1001 City and I mean, you get to a thousand miles.
And did you kind of have that post running, post race blues of like, I just did this crazy cool thing. We raised $10,000. We talked to people all over, but now what do I do?
Right. Yeah. Uh, you know, I can't remember specifically, but probably a little bit, you know, the, the. The really neat thing about that was by the end of the a hundred days, I think something like, I think it was close to 200 people had ran
what was the most amount of people that ever ran in one single day.
Yeah. The final day there's a picture, there's probably 40 people, 40, 50 people
that all got 10 miles in.
Yeah. Yeah.
That's impressive.
We got into this, it was so raw, and then at the end of it, it's like, oh, this is like a buttoned up organization writing checks out in the community. Like all on it, all not planned.
And uh,
what was the craziest route?
Oh,
like where was like a route that still sticks with you
ran on I-465.
Shut up,
let's go. Yep. Got lost. Uh, Northwest side. You got GPS and you're thinking, I don't wanna run 15 miles. Like if I had to, whatever. But there's a fence and maybe we hopped that. I was with two other, Trevor was one of 'em.
Uh, but yeah, we were on I-465 for, I don't know, quarter mile, maybe half mile. Uh, got off on a ramp.
Yeah.
You know,
you're taking the exit ramp off I-465 on foot.
Yeah.
That is dedication to the craft.
That was a, that was a little wild.
Yeah. Were there any other conversations that you had? This is, again, this is 2020.
Mm-hmm. Spent a hundred days in, in all sorts of miscellaneous parts of the city.
Yeah.
Like what were the overall themes or challenges or conversations that you were hearing from our local neighbors?
You're gonna take me back and we, we met, you know, a, a lot of folks who we meet that one of the concerns that they had was just their kids.
Yeah, like, it, it seemed to always, like if we were talking to parents, the first thing that they would bring up typically was, was uh, you know, their kids and, and, and the world they're being brought up in and, you know, maybe some struggles related to education or just cost of living and things like that.
And obviously COVID had an impact on that standpoint, but, you know, we met people that were dealing with like a, you know, some addiction problems and things like that. Yeah. We met a guy that had dedicated his life to just music in the way of like, he wasn't making music to, to share it out and like grow it.
He's like, no, I just, I'm addicted to the craft. Like, I love to jam. And, uh, he shared music with us and, uh, we just story told around that got his history. It was, it was a lot of fun.
Yeah. As you were giving to the community. What lessons were you getting from the community? Like, what did you learn? I mean, you had a Yeah, probably a hundred plus different conversations.
You're not gonna understand your community and what you think is, uh, within reach and your, and your, you know, your neighbors, your n like your city, whatever. Unless you get out and experience it, uh, firsthand. Uh, you gotta be out, walking, talking to people, uh, just kind of being a part and immersed in the community, in person.
I think that's the, the biggest thing. 'cause it, you know, at the time the world, it felt like it was on fire, you know? And if you're just watching it on a screen, you're thinking, I'm not going anywhere near downtown at this point. Yeah. You go down there, it's like, yeah. You know, there's things going on, but at the same time, uh, you're not gonna truly understand unless you immerse yourself in it.
Yeah.
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You know, things are rolling and people are excited around the movement, but the movement's over. Yeah. You know, like, we did this thing. Yep. How does the actual nonprofit organization, New Shoe Day end up forming from Yeah. The project that was 1001 City.
Yeah. So I mentioned we, we built kind of a community around it through folks that had participated and over about the next year, that community in various different ways continued to engage, uh.
Whether it was through weekly runs or just, um, you know, just folks being social with each other. We had set up a Slack platform that everyone was on. Yeah, everyone's chirping on that.
I mean, like, that's where I first got plugged in was I saw Jake Landgraf. Yeah. He was like running at five 30 in the morning on Wednesdays and Broad Ripple.
Yeah. And I was like, that's crazy.
Yep.
Like five, like again, it's, it's funny to look back now 'cause I do it all the time now, but at the time, yeah, it was like waking up early at five 30. No. Waking up at five to get to a run by five 30. Yeah. Is absolutely psycho.
Yeah.
And I was like, I love Psycho. And I just, I remember I showed up and I was like, you know, once a month or once every other, and like I've probably been a consistent Wednesday morning runner for a few years now.
Yeah.
But at the time I just like saw these crazy people that were out there running, they were meeting at the Fresh Thyme in Broad Ripple. Yes. Before the great move over to Hubbard & Cravens. And we would meet on the front steps of Fresh Thyme and we would take a picture, uh, at the end of every run. And it was just this community of people that in the daylight are doing amazing things in whether it's their respective careers or with our community, but in the morning it was like they're doing great stuff for them.
Like they're, they're out there running and talking and chatting and, you know, moving their body, whether it's negative 10 degrees or whether it's 90 degrees.
Yeah.
It, it was incredible. And then that was my first introduction. And then throughout the time you start to learn like, wait, what is New Shoe Day?
Yeah. And then like, oh, you start to realize there's this whole movement behind it. Like how did you get to the point where the idea of giving New Shoe Days to children in, in central Indiana was important?
Again, about a year after 1001 City ended, we still had people connecting. We still had energy and we had this brand at the time.
Yeah. New Shoe Day or this phrase. And enough people were kind of nudging me like, Hey, you, you should probably really start to think seriously about this. Uh. In a more formalized way. So, um, we filed 501(c)(3) papers in 2021 and, and became a,
I remember that was a big day.
Yeah, yeah.
We were talking about on a Wednesday morning run, and it was like, yeah.
Oh, we're official now.
Yeah.
And I was like, wait, I thought this was a run club. Like, what are you talking about?
There you go. So that, that was like an early misconception of, uh, and we very much were like, I mean, but it wasn't, it turned into not just a Yeah, right. And, you know, but even out of the gates, the idea was, uh, let's occasionally as volunteers in this community who are full-time working professionals, a lot of parents involved, uh, let's occasionally throughout the year, you know, do some good let and let's actually provide new shoes.
And at the time our, our scope was we're gonna focus on youth. We're gonna focus on youth and stay stateside. And, uh, we're gonna actually figure out a way. To give kids shoes, which we had never done before.
Yeah. And then from there, you know, over the next five years mm-hmm. Uh, as a, you were part-time, you were doing this in the, uh, what it, Casey always says we're scrapping for minutes.
Like we're scraping. Scraping, we're scraping for minutes. You know, like finding it, plugging it in here or there. Yeah. 'cause uh, the end of the story of that piece is you end up in 2026 making this your full-time job.
Yeah.
Like, you are 100% focused on growing New Shoe Day and, and impacting youth through shoes, uh, in our community.
And, and I'm assuming, uh, we're gonna get into that later, but like more communities. So take me through the moments that helped shape the idea to, to do this on a bigger scale.
Kind of recall those as indicators, if you will. Yeah. But we, we, for a couple years, it was again, just do sporadic work.
Yeah. Like, you know, raise some money.
Yeah.
Give some shoes.
Yeah. Rave some money, give
some shoes. And like, what are the, what are the orgs that we're, that you're partnering with too? Get shoes on one side. 'cause it was very important that it was new shoes. Yeah. Like, not just like do a shoe driving gives your hand-me-downs to somebody else.
There's a time and a place in that. There's totally a lot of good organizations that are doing that. Totally. But for the mental wellbeing aspect of getting a brand new pair of shoes. Yeah. On the feet of kids in Central Indiana,
we had no idea what we were doing in the beginning. The, the easiest thing to do was find the organization to say, Hey, we're a new shoe and, and we'd like to help you.
And they're like, great, you know, uh, and we'll actually provide new shoes. At the time it didn't know if we were gonna go to Athletic Annex and buy 'em all. I can be a little relentless and things and, and I love to learn. And so once we, early on we were supporting just a handful of organizations and we.
We maybe pushed out five or 600 pairs of shoes. Those first two years,
five or 600 pairs of shoes is not nothing.
Yeah.
You know, and you're, so where were you getting the original shoots from?
Even to today? I started working the channels of like, distribution partners. Uh, suppliers.
Yeah. So I'd go directly to Adidas or Brooks or Nike or whoever.
Think more like gear distributors who are doing not just shoes, but like uniforms, equipment.
Okay.
Like that type of stuff. Um, our procurement channels have expanded a little bit from there. Yeah. Uh, going direct to brand is maybe a little bit more difficult than most people think. Uh, we're
not, well, you're not saying that There's a ton of other organizations that are reaching out to Hoka asking for shoes.
Like Yeah. I, I could see that, that be a challenge.
Now listen, we're knocking on the doors though.
Amen.
So, you know. No, just the first two letters have not yet. And that's, that's kind of where we're at. So,
dang. Like any good, any good philanthropic, uh, career guy. I love it.
Yeah. So, you know, we were doing good work and then y.
The indicators. I kind of, I, I referred to, we turned the corner in 2023, maybe we were mid 2023. And we all of a sudden started to experience like a lot of inbound from youth serving organizations around the community saying, Hey, I heard, um, what you all are doing, or maybe we saw it and we'd really love to have you, uh, also, uh, support us.
And so from a demand side of things, it, it picked up, uh, pretty significantly.
So you're starting to get a large amount of organizations saying, Hey, we have kids here in Indiana that don't have that need. New shoes.
Yeah. And, you know, we'll get into like how we operate today. But that was the, that was the basis of it, of like, oh, you know, this is, this is getting a little serious.
We might wanna button up, like how we fundraise, how we think about scaling to meet this need and, and going from there. And, uh, that, that time and a play that, that really informed kind of a lot of the early work to how we are today.
Yeah. In those early, early years, what was the biggest partnership where you were able to find.
The right community partner on like a funding side and the right organization that had need. And like, how many shoes were you able to, to drop and, and provide a New Shoe Day?
The end of 2023, we did a project that we dished out, I think it was close to 1200 pairs of shoes.
No way.
Yeah. So that was to
who?
Oh, it was a, a range of organizations in schools. Yeah. So actually at the time, Newfields reach out to us and they had a shoe exhibit happening. Uh, so, you know, the art of shoe and, and footwear and things like that. They had an exhibit that was there for like six months.
A lot of people don't know that.
Uh, Chuck Taylor is, uh, was from Indiana.
Let's go.
So they talk about famous footwear here in the state of Indiana. Chuck Taylor grew up in Brown County.
Come on.
So I'm sure, I hope that was a part of the exhibit of shoes. Yeah. And the Indiana lore there.
So they, they actually came to us and said, Hey, we want to, we want to take this art exhibit and spin back some community impact and we'd like to use you as, uh, kinda the service provider to do it.
So boom, another indicator of, wait a second, we're positioned in the market as maybe a service provider of, of some aspect. So that was a big moment for us. Yeah. Uh, a lot of exposure. Um, we were able to help a lot of kids out, uh, over the course of that weekend,
the idea of giving shoes really got popularized, I feel like by TOMS.
You know, where it was like, buy one and you give one.
Yeah.
And then they started, like any good thing, they started to get pushback that they were, you know, giving shoes to underprivileged people that needed food in Africa or wherever it was. So why are new shoes so important to the youth in our community?
Here's how we kind of position ourselves. Right. And, and you alluded to kinda the business we're in is something that we've brought to the table called shoe insecurity. Yeah. And when we think of people or communities struggling, uh, you know, maybe on whatever spectrum of. Poverty or whatever you have there, there are a lot of barriers, uh, that they're facing, um, that might be inhibiting them from thriving.
And in our focus on youth, uh, we see shoes as that. And, and through our work, we've seen it firsthand. Uh, you know, we've had, we've had kids come to us and say, Hey, I've never gotten a pair of shoes in a box before. That type of stuff. And I tell that story a lot. Yeah. Uh, you know,
well, I mean, you talk about even you guys have worked with athletic teams and, and different ways and like that, like, uh, one of them that has always stuck with me was, um, the track team.
Purdue Polytechnic
at Purdue Polytechnic.
Yeah.
Like you had kids out there showing up for the first day of track practice in Crocs.
Mm-hmm.
There's just that feeling. You have to tie in the feeling of, again, I'm like taking the words from you, but like the feeling of empowerment.
Mm-hmm.
When you put on, again, whether it's those new running shoes or the new gym shoes, or you're.
New loafers before you go into your first day at a big job.
Mm-hmm.
Like that feeling of confidence and power does come from footwear
being at the forefront of this issue. We kind of describe it as, as it we're, serving on a spectrum of, of thriving for the youth that we're serving. And in, in the very basics, we're solving a lot of shoe insecurity that is in the most basic of need space.
We're talking kids that are putting trash bags on their feet to walk to work or school or back to their shelter in the dead of winter. We're, we're, so we're talking like shoes as a function of safety and just being able to walk out the door. Right. But then as we move up the spectrum of, of thriving, we're talking about, Hey, make sure that you know this kid, he's been shameful of his shoes and he won't go out to the bus stop.
And if we can put something on. Their feet to where they lift their chin up and they're like, yeah, I'll go to the bus stop. Right? And then, and then it's, it's a ripple effect. From there, they go to school, you know, and, and the whole thing is, is that shoes should not be a barrier. For a kid to be a kid, A lot of what they face, the ones that are struggling, you know, they didn't choose any circumstances that they're in.
They're facing a lot. That's, that's very, um, you know, unfair and unjust at times. And if we can just solve one of those barriers for them, uh, and there's a lot of other partners out there doing some incredible work to help solve other things. Yeah. We've just been able to see shoes as, as something different.
Well, and we've had, oh my gosh, from food insecurity to housing insecurity. Like it takes a village to solve all of these problems. Like, you know, yep. You, you know, you have the right service and helps you get these kids fed, get them housed, and then you start thinking about thriving and like mm-hmm. Once you're, I dunno, it's like that Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right?
Yeah. Once you get some of those basic needs met, it's like, okay, yeah. How can I be the best version? How can I get maybe a job that's, you know, it's a two mile walk and I'm walking there in Crocs every day, like my ankle's hurting. That, that's like a hard thing to do.
Yeah, I mean in, in the world of wraparound services is kind of what we're, we're now at the table, right?
Yeah. So we're serving along organizations that are doing food insecurity, housing insecurity, all the above.
Yeah.
Our eyes have been open to a lot of that. But on the, on the, in the space of thriving, right? Uh, shoes can both solve the most basic of needs. And they can also empower a kid or a student to sign up for a team, you know, and then they get the mentor, they get the coach, and their life might be changed forever.
We'll, we'll do this a million times over if that happens for one kid. Yeah. And we've seen it and, you know, you talked about the coach. Shout out Coach Nicole Schadek over at Purdue Polytechnic. She's, she's incredible. Uh, and I don't say that lightly. You know, when she reached out to us and, and we've, we're actually, I'm talking with her right now 'cause we're setting up their track and field team for this spring.
Uh, she was telling me a story. She was spending her time ensuring that they had a trash can full of used spikes and shoes that their team would share for practices and meets. They would take it with them. And it was all used stuff that she didn't know what she had, but she was stressing out about it because she's got athletes that want to participate and she's spending her time, not coaching, but trying to figure out that aspect.
And we were able to take that off her plate. Yeah. And unlock a lot for her from the standpoint of, hey, she got in the game to coach and we're giving a little bit of that back to her now.
Yeah, absolutely. And so from 2023, there really starts to be an increase in velocity. Mm-hmm. You know, through 2024 and 2025 where.
You the, the need is clearly there. Lots of inbound, lots of places. You talk about, you know, you're giving out 1200 shoes and, and one big drop in 2023, I believe. Mm-hmm. Like what was the number of shoes that you guys were able to provide for kids in 24 and 25?
24? I think we gave out almost 3,500 pair. And then last year we did 5500,
5500 pairs of shoes to kids in, in Indiana.
This is an interesting 'cause, you know, I, I'm a scoreboard guy. Like, I like to play offense, right? And so numbers aren't, but it's not the whole story. And that's where between last year and this year, you know, our eyes have really been open to, uh, you know, what this really is. And when we talk about shoe insecurity, you know, we started out a few years, we would do shoe drop events and they're fantastic.
You know, kids are there, they're on site. We, the New Shoe Days happen. It's pretty magical. It it, yeah. It's an amazing moment. A lot of good is done in that moment. It's, it's, it's good, it's good stuff. But shoe insecurity is not solved by doing one-time events like by any means. And so in 2024, started to think a little bit differently about what are we as an organization?
Are we an organization that's gonna, you know, work twice a year during back to school events and holiday events, or are we here to solve a problem? And that in and of itself really started to shape how we think and operate. And so today what that looks like is, you know, we continue to do, we come alongside youth organizations and maybe it's a mile milestone moment or a point in time or an event, and we make New Shoe Day magic happen in those events.
But in order to solve shoe insecurity, you've gotta be able to sustain that impact year round because kids are kids, right? And, uh, you know, I'm blessed to have three boys and I can't tell you how often. We're thinking on the home front, oh man, we gotta get another pair of shoes. Like, you know, Remy blew that one out.
Kirby lost that one. Louis's growing. And you know, at the end of the day, like that's maybe a little annoying and a little inconvenient, but, and we actually want that to happen. Kids being kids means that they're gonna need more shoes to be kids. They're gonna grow, they're gonna participate. So solving shoe insecurity one time is not gonna solve the problem.
How do we fix this, uh, in the poverty alleviation space in a sustainable way? And that started to inform our other mode of operating the community, which centered around serving as Indiana's Shoe Bank. Uh, right now we have 12 shoe pantries in and around the community, which are within the walls and facilities of many of our partners.
Yeah. Like where, where are a few of those at
Firefly, The Villages, Girls Inc... We just activated one in Wabash County. We just activated another in, uh, the Boys & Girls Club in Bloomington. Uh, Shepherd Community Center's got one. Yeah. So,
so you are just keep, you're keeping shoes stocked in these places of all, like basic sizes and
Yeah.
Boys and girls.
Yeah. So it gives the, you know, the caretaker, the adult, the social worker, the co like whatever. It gives them the ability to pull the size seven off the shelf and, and solve shoe insecurity in the moment for maybe a kid that they're, uh, you know, that's in their purview. So that is a, a mode of sustainable impact for us that is ongoing.
And we, and we don't, we don't see that stuff very often. Right. We see the one day events that are exciting and magical, uh, but we're in this to take shoe and security off the table for the state of Indiana and it starts with our Shoe Bank operation and, and scaling that. So,
yeah, and I mean. You talk about indicators.
Yeah. You know, coming through 24 and 25, the indicators were blanking that there is a big need here. Yeah. There is a ton of shoe insecurity across the state of Indiana and there's so much need there, and you're so driven to help make an impact that this became your, your full-time job. You left, uh, GadellNet.
We can talk about that. Yeah. 'cause obviously some was on here. Yeah. You leave your full-time job to go all in on the nonprofit side. Take me through the final dominoes that had to fall in place for you to make that leap. Because similar to what Casey said in the beginning about me going through my journey, this has been something that's been on your heart for many, many years of being able to, you know, put all of your time and energy outside of family, but into New Shoe Day and making an impact to solve shoes insecurity in Indiana.
You know, I'm very cognizant that, that like the blessing that's bestowed upon me right now to be able to, to do this is, uh, it's unique, right? And, but it's also comes with, uh, you know. The way I frame it is I feel not only a sense of calling to this, but also a sense of re responsibility. Uh, you know, not only because it's something that I've been doing, but you know, there's a, there's a cry out for this and, uh, I'm lucky enough to be in a position to, to serve.
And, and when you've, when you've built something that's, uh, you know, we have maybe multiples of demand more than we can serve right now. So that's from a, just a business case model. Like,
like give us a, give us an example or give us a sense Yeah. Of how, what is the number?
Mm,
how much shoe insecurity is there in the state of Indiana?
I'll start out with saying, I don't know, uh, like fair warning, I don't know. But if I contextualize it with numbers, this is where, this is where our head is at from a vision standpoint. We did 5,500 New Shoe Days last year and it's great. I'm not discounting that work. It was a lot, it was a second job for me, you know, and a lot of volunteers contributing, a lot of supporters involved.
And most of the time when I'm talking with folks they're, they're like, oh my, wow. Like, and I'm not gonna discount that. Yeah. The state of Indiana has 250,000 kids living in poverty. Okay. So quarter million kids living in poverty. We're in the business of shoe insecurity. That's the thing we're trying to solve for.
I'm not here to say that 250,000 kids need a new pair of shoes. Okay. I, I don't know if they do, but even if I take a fraction of that, right. Let's just say a hundred thousand kids might need a new pair of shoes this year or whatever. And we already talked about that. One pair doesn't,
yeah,
it doesn't solve it.
Yeah. I don't know what the numbers, I'm sure there's math on how often a kid changes their shoes if they only were to have one pair of shoes that they wore every day.
So when you talk about why did I feel compelled to do this, it's because of the questions that are on the table around this. So we do 5,500, and I know that one pair doesn't solve the problem.
Um, I don't know if it's two pair or three pair or whatever. Uh, you know, we live in a four season state, so it's not even just, you might need multiple different kinds of pair of shoes. Yeah. Um, but let's just say it's two pair and there's a hundred thousand kids that might need us. It's 200,000. Right. And maybe it's more than two pair, I don't know, 5,500 with all the indicators and the ability to build a, you know, a kind of a business model around it.
In the nonprofit sense, we're barely scratching the surface of what's possible. Yeah. And, you know, I dream big, I, I, I love bold ideas. Absolutely. Put me in the game. Like, let's get in the arena, right?
Mm-hmm.
And for God to put this in front of me and, uh, to do anything even close to ignoring it was not an option.
Yeah.
Like, not just, not even close to being an option and, uh, you know, I don't know where this takes me or whatever. This is the position I'm in now. Yeah. And it's the call to action and, and so we're doing it.
Yeah. So the beginning of this year
mm-hmm.
You set out the first full-time employee of New Shoe Day
Yeah.
On this mission to solve shoe insecurity in the state of Indiana.
Yeah.
You wake up whatever the first working day in January is. What do you gotta do? What are the steps that need to fall in line for new shoe date to solve shoe insecurity in the state?
That's the puzzle piece we're trying to, to, to put together.
So we're very analog right now to a degree. We've stood up our first shoe bank HQ in Broad Ripple. Uh, we're starting to accumulate some of our own inventory. Uh, a lot of what we do is drop shipping using our supplier partners as Indiana's Shoe Bank and kind of the economies of scale with the number of projects we're doing.
I think we did 115 or 120 projects last year alone. Uh, we wanna start to develop kind of our own. You know, warehouse and operation around that. Yeah. But right now it's very, it's pretty analog. So we're thinking critically about what's the strategy and what layers of technology might we need to kind of layer onto this.
Uh, but as one of one, you know, of the organization, I kind of like to joke that like, I'm the guy cleaning the toilets and cashing the checks in the same hour of the same day. You know, like, you, you get it right?
Oh yeah. Come on now.
Yeah. And, uh, and you love that. You love the grind, but then you think about what's possible and
having that, and then obviously you have part-time like volunteer board members that do a ton of work behind the scenes to help bring this to life.
Yeah.
And it's like, you can't, you can't solve 200,000 pairs of shoes No. On while you're also scrubbing the toilets and
Yeah.
Cashing the checks.
Yeah. And, and what's really important for, for the organization is that our QC stays really high. Yeah. So our relationships we have with our community partner partners, uh, those that we serve.
Uh, hands down the, the biggest priority of all this. So, you know, a big part of my job right now is just making sure that our relationships and our delivery with them Yeah. Is on point. And, uh, so we have to succeed there. And then from there, you know, uh, I'm on the road show, if you will, uh, January, I think I had five or six meetings a day on average, and roughly 75% of them were net new.
So out of the gates, you know, the community
Yeah.
In Indiana fashion really came alive. And, and a lot of, Hey, I'm interested, how can I help? Who can I introduce you to? Yeah. That type of stuff. So,
and so is the, the current need, it's like you have to go out and fundraise mm-hmm. And you have to find, whether it be individuals or corporate partners Yeah.
To come alongside and say, Hey. Solving shoe insecurity is important and we need to, to do this.
Yeah.
Uh, and then you then link that up with shoes, and then you find the kids and you put it all together
to a degree. Yeah. Uh, we're, we're, uh, we're getting our corporate engagement program off the ground right now.
So we've got corporate partners where, you know, they're investing in New Shoe Day, and what we're able to do with them is bring them a really unique, uh, kind of engagement experience for, for maybe their teams or their, their employees and give them volunteer hours.
Who have been some of your biggest partners thus far on the corporate side that have bought into this mission?
You know, Lucas Oil came through last year, and I can't say enough about that. I know they were
Yeah.
On the podcast, but
Katie and Morgan are awesome.
Yeah. Katie and Morgan are awesome. And then, and then they've got a teammate, Maddie Hall, who kind of leads all their community impact as a company. They are extremely, uh, giving and generous into the community.
Uh, and, and they were no different for us. Uh, they, they care a lot about Wheeler Mission and we, uh. I worked with Lucas Oil team and, and we were able to activate a shoe pantry, uh, down at the shelter. And so, um, you know, the kids in that facility, uh, you know, they're taking care of
Yeah.
Their proper footwear.
We sent 'em a hundred pair of boots this past, uh, winter and, um, doing some really good work there. Uh, KSM Consulting, uh, GadellNet. You already gave them
shout out.
Yeah. Or sorry. Uh, KSM, not KSM Consulting. Um, but, uh, and then several others that we've got going. I can't thank our partners enough and
yeah.
You know, very motivated to expand our corporate engagement program, for sure.
How can listeners out there get involved to help make an impact to solve shoe insecurity in the state?
First and foremost, just, uh, keep it top of mind, right? Like the, with anyone, you know, I like to think that every time you put a pair of shoes on, you think about someone who might not have that opportunity.
So first and foremost is just to keep it aware. Uh, for individuals, we've got a few different ways you can engage. Obviously we've got, you know, kind of monthly support. We've got volunteer opportunities that come online very often. Uh, you know, getting hands on and being able to serve several of our community partners.
You can sponsor a shoe pantry if you want. Uh, back to the running kind of component of it. We've just kind of kicked off our race for a cause initiative to where anyone taking on a challenge running or anything else, they can, uh, leverage that challenge to raise funds and awareness for New Shoe Day and really take part in the mission that
way.
Yeah, and I'll even say, let's say you're, you just wanna hang out with other people that are cool and like running.
Yeah.
Wednesday mornings, Hubbard & Cravens and Broad Ripple, we're running at five 30 and we loop back around at six. And the one thing that I just can't say enough good things about, one, the work, obviously, you know, putting.
Choose on kids in the state of Indiana is incredible and we need to continue doing more of that. And the people that are dedicated to that mission are some of the best people I think about, you know, getting to meet you and Jake. And Carly. And Carly still comes to Broad Ripple run club, so I get to hang out and hear all about the updates from her.
But just people that are willing to one, go outta their way to serve others, and two, wake up at early morning hours. Mm-hmm. To get the miles in are just great people that you wanna spend time around. I always find myself leaving the Wednesday morning run club energized and invigorated and just like on fire.
Yeah. To make impact and to push myself again, like I think there was like this, uh. Like the, the age old saying, it's like I, as I, after I showed up to Run Club for like a year, they were like, oh yeah, right now is about the time when Nate will do his first race. And then after I did my first marathon, they're like, and right about now's the time where he is gonna like do something crazy like an Ironman.
Mm-hmm. And then after that I was like, yeah. And, you know, a few years into it, then he is gonna try to get into ultra, like, it was like clockwork where like I would, you know, do my first marathon and then I'd hear about someone in the run club doing an ultra. And I was like, oh, like I know people that are doing that.
Like, I wanna, I wanna strive to be, to push myself that far, which, I dunno, you guys just do such a great job of setting, uh, setting the bar high so that it pushes you to want to, you know, push your, push myself like that. So
you're part of that?
Yeah. We're, we're working on it, brother. Oh, uh, Casey, I could do a full three hour episode with you, but we're coming close on time and I wanna wrap out talking.
A few Indiana things.
Yeah.
So, uh, this question is brought to you by our friends at JC Hart. They're a leader in creating enjoyable living experiences at apartment communities all across Indiana and beyond. Check them out at home is jc hart.com. My question for you, Casey, why do you call Indiana home?
It all centers around the people.
I've got quite a story here, right? Um, both of, um, extreme, just, just some amazing things that have happened. But my community, my family, uh, whether they're they're blood related or not, they're all here Indiana's home for so many reasons. Uh, it's, it's, it's more of a feeling than anything. And, uh, that's special about this place, for sure.
Amen. Okay. What was the first pair of shoes that you remember falling in love with as a kid?
Probably some Nike shocks.
Oh, the sh
I
remember. Yeah, I remember. I remember my first shocks for sure.
I mean, those were, those were an electric shoe. They were so cool.
You know what, maybe back that up, you say Electric shoe.
Do you ever have any LA Gear as a kid?
Oh, LA Gear.
You're so young.
Whoa. Yep. Those are slick.
Yep.
LA Gear. So you'd be
walking around and they were putting on a, putting on a light show everywhere you went. I, come on, I mean, talk about electric. I had some LA Gear.
That's a good one.
Yep.
What's your favorite race in Indiana?
The Tecumseh Trail Marathon is, is dialed. Um, just, you know, I, I like to be out in nature. I love road. I love the road racing scene. Obviously Indiana has some incredible road races. Uh, sign up for the mini if, if you haven't already. You there
50th year, right?
Yeah, yeah.
I need to sign up.
I'll sign. I, I signed up.
I'll send you the, the New Shoe Day link for it.
There we go.
Yeah, you can join the New Shoe Day team. So obviously some rich history there, but I like to be on Trails and the Tecumseh Marathon down in, uh, Yellowwood State Forest is, uh, it's a great race.
Yeah. Okay. What's the longest distance you've ever ran
last summer out at Ouray, Colorado?
Um. The GPS doesn't fully work in those mountains 'cause it's, there's some sharp mountains in there. I think it ended up being about 110 miles at the end of the day. I think I was on foot for 51 and a half hours, so
Isn't that crazy?
Yeah.
110 miles. 51 and a half hours. You are insane. That's so awesome. I love it.
And that's like with Elev, like there was a ton of elevation. What was the vert?
45,000 feet.
45,000 feet.
40, 45.
We're doing Run Rabbit Run. Yeah. In September. And it's like, I don't know, seven or 8,000 maybe up less than 10.
They all bring their own level of variables.
45,000 feet of elevation gain is insane.
Oh I love it. When a kid laces up a brand new pair of shoes. What's the first word you hope that they feel?
Wow.
What's the most interesting pair of shoes that you've had to, that you've gotten the opportunity to, you know, provide someone with a New Shoe Day?
So we do some sport specific stuff. Yeah.
Related to you. We'll do wrestling shoes.
Yeah.
Most of what we do is the everyday back to tennis. Or back to school tennis shoe. But we do a lot of sports specific stuff. We've done winter boots, we did work boots, we've done some steel toes.
Oh yeah.
For some kids and some trades programs and stuff like that.
That's
incredible.
I love it. We'll take care of it all.
Alright, final three questions that we ask every guest to come on the show. First one, what's something the world needs to know about Indiana?
I'm gonna give a shout out to C7 right now. Citizen 7. So Don Palmer and Greg Enas started Citizen 7, uh, several years ago.
Just the intention of building community among, uh, men, uh, men of faith and, and just, you know, from all walks of life coming together, finding ways to serve, uh, finding a way to be intentional about relationships with each other. I love C7 and they've grown. They've grown like wildfire. Yes. And I don't think Don and Greg ever expected it and it's got such a unique just culture to it.
It's just very easygoing and
yeah,
there's no agenda. It's just building relationships. Big shout out to C7.
Amen. Okay. This is your opportunity to enlighten us on a part of the state that more people need to be talking about. What is a hidden gem in Indiana?
It may not be hidden, but Morgan-Monroe State Forest,
this is where they do the MOMOFO.
Yeah,
those races down in Morgan County.
They do, yeah. I mean it just get out in the trails and like, you know, India, especially southern Indiana, there's a lot of beautiful places down there. But Morgan-Monroe State Forest is, it's, it's accessible, easy
if you're training for a Colorado ultra marathon.
Where in Indiana are you training for that?
Yeah, I mean you do have to get out on the trails. Morgan Monroe's pretty good. Uh, but for stuff like that, you, you know, you're spending a lot of time on the incline treadmill you're doing. Uh, some, some weighted vest. Yeah. Kinda rucking stuff. Building our strength.
Like where, like where's the most vert you've found in Indiana? On like a couple mile stretch.
The Knobstone Trail.
Yeah.
Yeah. Down by,
that's way, way south.
Way, way south. Um, you can get as much elevation there as you can on a Colorado course easily.
Whoa.
Yeah. It's gnarly. It, it'll bite you. Like,
alright.
Yeah, I'm here for that. You'll have to get down. They do a race there now.
Yeah, I know. I, I saw I, this is like the year of weddings for me, so I'm like, I have weddings. Like every, like every big race. Get ready.
That's about to be your next decade.
Yeah. Right? Of course. Okay. Finally, this is where we source new guest ideas and learn about other people doing really cool things.
Who's a Hoosier? We need to keep on our radar. Someone who's doing big things.
I'm gonna give a shout out to my guy Bryce Akridge at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. Bryce is a young guy, uh, extremely energetic. He leads all of their group mentoring efforts. Which is really kind of an afterschool program where these cohorts of kids, uh, come together, uh, for about six weeks and do all sorts of different engagements and activities.
Uh, why that's important is Big Brothers Big Sisters. There's a very long waiting list of kids that are looking for a mentor. And the point of this cohort program is to engage with those youth in a different way, uh, perhaps while they're waiting for a mentor. So, shout out. Shout out Bryce. He's doing incredible work.
He's hungry. Uh, he's a young leader. He wants to be. His thing is, uh, he wants to be a CEO of a nonprofit one day, and he is very vocal about it, and he's got his eyes set on it, so
heck yeah.
We're all rooting for Bryce.
Shout out to Bryce.
Yeah,
I love it, man. Casey, this has been such a pleasure to get to talk a little bit about your journey from, you know, baseball and Carmel to the peaks of Ouray, Colorado and all of the amazing stuff in between, man, it's just, you're an inspiration and I'm lucky to call you a friend and I'm lucky to, you know, get to be a small part of the New Shoe Day organization, the work that you're doing, empowering kids, helping them feel more confident, helping them to thrive.
Uh, I mean, everyone should know that feeling. Everyone like, and those that are listening. Remember the feeling like when you put on your new running shoes or you put on your. Whatever the new shoes are when you're going for your new job. Like that is just a powerful feeling that makes you feel like you can conquer the world, and everyone deserves to feel that.
So shout out to you. Shout out to Carly. Shout out to Trevor.
Mm-hmm.
The rest of the New Shoe Day board. Mm-hmm. Everyone that shows up for the runs, everyone that helps donate. Big things are coming. Shoe insecurity in the state of Indiana. I, I'm gonna say it. I think you guys are, we're gonna solve it.
Take it off
the table.
We're, we're gonna take it off the table. I love it man. Thanks for stopping by and we'll talk to you soon.
Appreciate you, man.
Alright, that's a wrap on today's nonprofit spotlight and I hope you're as fired up as I am about the work being done by amazing leaders right here in Indiana. Big thanks again to Elements Financial for sponsoring the series as a credit union.
They're not-for-profit and built on the idea of empowering individuals to achieve financial success. That's why they've been empowering Hoosiers and folks around the globe for 95 years. They're based in Indy, they serve members in all 50 states and more than 50 countries, and they're serious about giving back, teaching more than 1000 financial wellness classes every year, offering volunteer hours, and donating 1% of net profits to causes that matter.
So if you're looking for a financial partner that's rooted in purpose and proud to serve, check out elements.org/getin. That's elements.org/getin and use promo code getin Elements Financial, like a bank only better federally insured by NCUA. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time right here on Get IN.
