First Day Shoe Fund

Over 1,000 volunteers every year make it possible for us to support thousands of students in our community!

Thanks to those volunteers who have been completing our survey and letting us know what their volunteer experience has been like

If you would like to provide us with feedback, please click on the link.
https://forms.gle/qFJKuarFErRVygpn7

This month we will be saying "goodbye" to a number of our amazing board members who have reached the end of their 6-year tenure. We want to take this opportunity to say thank you to them for all they have done.

Thank you to Tim Rayman for your years of service!

Tim has been a member of the Fund Development committee, and has been an integral part of expanding our school sponsorship program. We endeavor to find a sponsor for each of our 47 schools and Tim has always been willing to share information about the work FDSF does with his personal and work circle.

Tim joined the FDSF board 6 years ago because another board member, Allison Birmingham from Greenleaf Trust, approached him. Tim says “I joined because the mission is so profound and I knew the impact would be huge in our community! “

We are grateful for the huge impact that Tim has had over the past 6 years!

Our Fall 2026 shoe distribution will be coming up soon and we would like to recognize our generous school sponsors!
School sponsors play an important role in our work! They help by providing funds to purchase some of the shoes that we need as well as providing volunteers to help students try on their new shoes on fitting day!

Thanks to for continuing to support us as a sponsor for Fall 2026 by sponsoring Angling Road Elementary.

If you are interested in becoming a school sponsor and helping us support students in our community, please check out our website at www.firstdayshoefund.org/sponsor or contact our Executive Director at [email protected]

We have LOTS of different types of shoes here at FDSF and we want to share some of our favorites and why!

Wide Shoes

During the 2025-2026 school year, we gave out 13,631 pairs of shoes, and 12% (1,636 pairs) were WIDE shoes. That means hundreds of children who might otherwise struggle to find comfortable footwear were able to start school with shoes that actually fit their feet.

Wide shoes matter.

For many kids, having the right width means:
✨ No pinching or discomfort
✨ Better ability to focus in class
✨ Confidence to run, play, and just be a kid

If your High School student needs volunteer hours (or just wants to volunteer), we have an opportunity JUST for high school students on July 8th 10:30am - 12:30pm

Sign up online

https://firstdayshoefund.charityproud.org/VolunteerRegistration/Calendar

Shoe deliveries are always exciting at FDSF - even though our Executive Director chooses every single pair herself (to maintain quality), since all of our shopping is done online, it’s exciting when they arrive and we get to see them!

Another 300 pairs arrived today ❤️

Look how far your support has helped us reach:

This map shows all 47 elementary schools served by FDSF across Kalamazoo County.

Did you know?
📍 Kalamazoo County covers approximately 580 square miles
💧 About 19 square miles of the county are water, including its many lakes, rivers, and streams
🏫 Our program reaches 47 schools throughout the county
👟 This year, we provided 14,321 pairs of shoes to local children
❤️ Thank you for helping us leave footprints of kindness across Kalamazoo County.

Every year, over 1,000 volunteers help us to support THOUSANDS of students with new shoes - this would not be possible without you all!

We are collecting feedback from our volunteers to learn a little more about the volunteer experience; the link below will take you to a short Google Form where you can tell us a little more about your volunteer experience with FDSF

First Day Shoe Fund - volunteer feedback form Thank you for volunteering with First Day Shoe Fund. We would love to learn a little more about your experience with us!

Thanks to great volunteers this morning for unpacking hundreds of pairs of new shoes.
The crates are looking very full!

Our Fall 2026 shoe distribution will be coming up soon and we would like to recognize our generous school sponsors!

School sponsors play an important role in our work! They help by providing funds to purchase some of the shoes that we need as well as providing volunteers to help students try on their new shoes on fitting day!

Thanks to for continuing to support us as a sponsor for Fall 2026 by sponsoring 12th Street elementary.

If you are interested in becoming a school sponsor and helping us support students in our community, please check out our website at www.firstdayshoefund.org/sponsor or contact our Executive Director at [email protected]