Traverse City’s Father Fred Foundation is kicking off another year of its annual “Back to School Shoes” program. The initiative not only provides new shoes and socks to local students in need, but also helps out families with school supplies, vision and dental screenings, and prescription glasses – all in time for the start of a new academic year. The program serves students from toddlers to teenagers all throughout the five-county Grand Traverse area. This year’s version of Back to School Shoes is slated to run from July 31 to August 8.

To make the Back to School Shoes program possible, Father Fred Foundation works with a variety of partners throughout the community. One key example is Golden Shoes, which – per a Father Fred press release that announced the 2023 edition of the program – “provides shoes at their cost through an agreement with shoe manufacturer, New Balance.” Father Fred then works directly with New Balance to ensure that a wide variety of shoe styles and sizes are available for kids to choose from.

Other community partners include Cherry Republic, My Secret Station, Formative Fitness, the Blue Goat, Grand Traverse Pie Company, Red Ginger, and more.

According to Father Fred Executive Director Candice Hamel, the nonprofit “started ordering shoes in January” in order to ensure a big enough inventory to meet local demand. Father Fred gauges that demand by asking local schools to provide flyers about the program to families toward the end of the school year. Families then register for the program in May and June. Per Hamel, this year’s shoe orders have been arriving since early spring and will continue to come in until the end of this month. In the meantime, Father Fred volunteers are hard at work sorting, categorizing, and inventorying the shoe shipments for distribution.

Once the Back to School Shoes program officially kicks off on July 31, a Father Fred truck will deliver shoe shipments to various event locations throughout the five-county area. Each spot will have 14-18 volunteers on hand to distribute shoes to registered families. Per the Father Fred press release, the shoes are organized and set up each day “so it feels like a real shopping experience for families, with stations for kids to try on their shoes.”

“The Back to School Shoes program is so much more than providing new footwear to kids,” Hamel said. “It’s about making it possible for them to start the school year in comfort and with confidence. With new shoes, supplies, and in some cases prescription glasses, kids are ready to succeed academically and socially.”

Families still interested in registering for the Back to School Shoes program can do so by calling Father Fred at 231-947-2055. July 29 is the final registration deadline.