Share the Spirit Foundation, Inc.
Our mission is to provide new shoes and socks to underserved children.
Our Foundation
Share the Spirit Foundation, Inc. realizes that shoes are a basic need that impacts health and wellness. We create a one-on-one shopping experience with a caring volunteer for each child to select the perfect shoes. We are strictly a volunteer organization and 100% of all proceeds go towards our mission. Your donation brings a smile along with pride and joy to each child.
Frequently Asked Questions
Collaborating with school officials is at the core of our mission. By working closely with teachers, administrators and social workers, we are confident we can identify children who require assistance.
Children often already receive hand-me-downs, used shoes or discarded shoes that do not fit properly. We want to ensure that every pair of shoes fit perfectly. Thus, our fundraising efforts provide the monetary means to buy new shoes and socks.
Throughout the year we organize multiple fundraisers, helping to gather the necessary funds. Additionally, we warmly welcome donations and actively pursue grants. Since we are an all-volunteer organization, our fundraisers are specifically designed to support the acquisition of new shoes.
Contact us with our form here. We would be happy to include your name on our list of volunteers. Thank you so much.
We have a donation page here. We are most grateful for any amount of contribution. Thank you so much. We are a 501c3 foundation. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable under law.
Share the Spirit Foundation's History
Meet Tonya Voepel (pictured right) and sister-in-law, Karen Voepel (pictured left), founders of Share the Spirit Foundation, Inc..
In 2002, approximately 2000 individuals embarked on a walk from Boulder, Colorado to Denver, taking part in the Avon Breast Cancer three-day walk to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. Tonya and Karen successfully completed the 60-mile challenge, raising more than $5,000.
Encouraged by overwhelming support from friends and family, 2003 marked the inauguration of the talked-about dream on their long walk. After all those miles walked, it was clear shoes would be the right fit for their new-found collaboration. Their mission? To ensure underprivileged children had new shoes on their feet. Together they came up with a plan focusing on their communities in Colorado and Illinois. Their idea was to partner with schools and community organizations, give children a personal one-on-one experience, and rally volunteers of all ages to join their endeavor and to have fun… thus the name “Share the Spirit Foundation.”
But how to raise money? There was no hesitation their fundraising efforts should be created around delicious food and drinks such as olive oil tastings, southern fare tastings, the best of the west tastings, wine and beer tastings, all of these parlaying into their signature fundraiser “Sip and Savor.”
Being a small organization, STS is driven by compassion. Proudly operating as an "all-volunteer" group, they achieved a significant milestone in 2023 by fulfilling their goal of providing over 20,000 pairs of new shoes to children and families in need. But it won't stop there… With a well-established board and remarkable assistance from volunteers, they persist in providing new shoes and socks to the less fortunate.
Shoe Store Partners
