THE JACOB S ZWEIG FOUNDATION INC

From inception through december 31, 2024, in jacob's shoes has provided 262,370 pairs of shoes, 95,977 pairs of socks, 12,704 backpacks with school supplies and 4,836 pieces of athletic equipment to local children and families in need. In jacob's shoes partners with hundreds of schools, social service agencies, shelters and other charities and has established and maintained over 140 emergency shoe closets throughout south florida. Most of the children served live in poverty. Many are homeless or are living in shelters. Some are in foster care or have aged out of foster care. Some have special needs. Some are victims of abuse or neglect and have been removed from their homes. Others are victims of fires, floods or hurricanes. Some must wear shoes that are too small, have holes or don't have soles. Some kids have no shoes at all or are forced to share shoes with siblings or parents. Wearing ill-fitted or damaged shoes is unhealthy for children's developing feet and can cause serious health issues. It can also cause the children to experience significant embarrassment. Walking to and around school becomes painful and, in some cases, prevents children from attending class regularly or participating in sports and extracurricular activities. Having a great pair of well-fitted shoes has a lasting, positive affect on a child's self-esteem. It also decreases bullying and reduces truancy. Our shoes provide children in need the opportunity to excel in academia and sports so they can work towards receiving scholarships to colleges and universities and opportunities they would not have access to otherwise. The shoes we provide allow children in need to attend school prepared and with dignity. In jacob's shoes receives in-kind donations of new and gently used shoes, socks, backpacks & school supplies. The gently used items are refurbished and then both the new and gently used items are placed into inventory and then distributed to children and families in need living in south florida. The in-kind items distributed are closely monitored and all demographic information (recipient's age, city, county, school, shelter, charity partner etc.) is recorded in an inventory system. Below is a recap of the in-kind donations received and distributed for calendar year 2024: new & gently used in-kind donations received 241,450 (estimated value) new & gently used in-kind items distributed to children & families in need 318,983 (estimated value)