About Us
Shoes 4 Change is project started by Scott Diekema and Drake Danner. This project purchases popular sneakers that are often difficult to obtain due to high demand and limited release. The shoes are resold and the proceeds are donated to miraclefeet (www.miraclefeet.org). Miraclefeet is a non-profit organization created to deliver simple, affordable and effective treatment to children born with clubfoot in developing countries. The goal of Shoes 4 Change is to build upon the secondary limited shoe market and donate the proceeds in order to change the lives of those children affected by clubfoot.
“I was born in Canton, Ohio, and my family lives there, but I now call Andover home. I’ve always loved shoes, collecting them and finding different ones. This past year I became more concerned with Retro Jordans and limited Nike releases. During my research, I was shocked to find out how much some of these sneakers are worth on the resale market. My own experience includes waiting overnight, outside (sometimes in wet, icy weather) in long lines with other collectors, anticipating the release of new kicks. I’ve had personal success with selling a few pairs through social networking sites such as Twitter.
At the beginning of the school year, I introduced this hobby to Scott who has already resold many pairs of shoes while starting a collection of his own. Scott and I both hope that this project becomes a successful and consistent source of donations for miraclefeet.” – Drake Danner
“Hello, my name is Scott Diekema. I attend school in Massachusetts, but I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa in a house a few blocks away from Dr. Ignacio Ponseti and the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. In elementary school, I would hear presentations about the great work that Dr. Ponseti was doing to treat infants and children born with clubfoot. Families from around the world came to Iowa City to receive Dr. Ponseti’s nonsurgical treatment for their children. As news of Dr. Ponseti’s success spread, educational and support teams were sent from Iowa to teach the Ponseti method of treatment in developing countries with limited health care resources.
“One of my former Iowa City neighbors and close family friend, Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, is a co-founder of miraclefeet, a non-profit organization responsible for organizing teams and resources in these developing countries. Last summer, I traveled with Chesca and her family to Ecuador to work as a research assistant for Chesca’s husband, Rudi. During that time, Chesca was trying to set up a clubfoot treatment program in Ecuador. It was then that I realized what a difference this nonsurgical treatment could mean for a child who is born unable to walk. This brings to us to Shoes 4 Change. When I returned to high school in the fall, my classmate Drake introduced me to his collection of limited edition basketball shoes, and I was fascinated by their rarity and value. He purchased shoes and sold them on secondary market for almost double the cost! As the fall semester continued, my interest in these shoes grew and I began developing a collection of my own. Then, just a few months ago, I had an idea. I could take advantage of this secondary market of rare basketball shoes to give to miraclefeet and give kids around the word the gift of walking. I took this, still rough, idea of connecting rare shoes with miraclefeet to my friend, Drake, and Shoes 4 Change began.” – Scott Diekema
