Shoes That Fit fills a unique niche in the state of Delaware. No other organization in the state provides new, brand name sneakers for free, delivered directly to the child’s school. Through collaboration with school staff (homeless advocates, family crisis therapists, school nurses) Shoes That Fit ensures that the children most in need receive shoes and they are distributed discreetly.

 

For the 27 years our Chapter has been in existence, the impact to the children receiving new sneakers has included improvement in the student’s school attendance, self-esteem, physical activity and behavior. To date, 25,000 students in Delaware have benefited from Shoes That Fit’s donations.

Providing these at- risk children with basic resources is critical to their success in school and life.

 

Children living in poverty face many hurdles—hurdles that slow them down in every way: academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. Childhood poverty creates lifelong challenges due to behavioral problems, low self- esteem, decreased educational readiness, increased risk of school drop- out, and chronic stress. Research shows that poverty shapes a child’s entire future because it adversely affects their ability to concentrate, remember, and learn. These hurdles are placed in front of children who have absolutely no control over their personal circumstances.

In 2025 Shoes That Fit Delaware achieved a milestone goal by opening a student shoe bank in each county.  This not only helped us to reduce our shipping costs, but leveraged the expertise of non-profit partners whanage the storage, fulfillment and delivery of shoes to each school.

In addition, under the leadership of our amazing volunteer, Marlene Johnson, we have started a sock donation program that has provided thousands of socks to local schools for distribution to these same students in need.