RON WHITE Pairs Designer Shoes with CSR Business Values
Designer shoes are a luxury item that many may think are frivolous and self-indulgent but Canadian shoe designer RON WHITE is looking to change that image by incorporating CSR business values that aim to make a difference by giving back. In 2009 White founded the Canadian registered charity, the RON WHITE foundation, which focuses on “raising funds, awareness and education for human rights both locally and internationally.”
The foundation organizes several fundraising initiatives each year including the White Knight gala which is held in honour of a different charity every year and a breast cancer fundraiser. Another one of the foundation’s main events is their yearly shoe drive. The shoe drive that the RON WHITE foundation hosts is the largest shoe drive in Canada. This year’s event launched on January 6th, 2012 at Toronto’s Manulife Centre marks the foundation’s 16th successful year.
The public are encouraged to “follow in the footsteps of your favourite celebrity” and donate their gently used women’s, men’s or children’s shoes or boots to any RON WHITE location in the Greater Toronto Area so they can be distributed to those in need. Donations will be accepted until Sunday February 5th, 2012 so this week is a last call to donate your shoes if you live in the area.
Image courtesy of ronwhiteshoes.com
The Shoe Drive is helped by the support of celebrities who bring much needed attention and publicity to the event. The generous celebrities who have donated signed shoes for display over the years leading up to (and including) the 2012 event are:
- Glee star Max Adler
- Matt Damon
- Celine Dion
- Eric McCormack
- Kevin Spacey
- Hilary Duff
- Jeremy Irons
- David Foster
- Catherine O’Hara
- Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez
- Entourage’s Debi Mazar
- Twilight saga’s Tinsel Korey
Once the shoes are collected, they are sorted and checked for suitability then given to shelters and organizations in need. This year the foundation is partnering to help such organizations as: Dress for Success, Halton Women’s Place, New Circles, Ve’ahavta, and Out of the Cold.
During a recent segment on Cityline with Tracy Moore, White explained that the idea for the event came about rather organically. Apparently, customers took to leaving their old shoes behind when purchasing a new pair at his store. This left them with a box full of gently worn shoes and boots which they would donate to local charities. That is how this event was born and this year, they expect to bring in and distribute approximately 3000+ pairs of shoes for those in need.
White, who was named Independent Retailer of the Year for 2011 by Conde Nast’s Footwear News, has even expanded his shoe drive into the United States. Last November he partnered with Nordstrom’s for a drive held at The Grove in Los Angeles.
It is easy to look at this as a shrewd marketing move however there is more to it than that. If it were purely for attention, Ron would partner with causes that are more known but instead he is associating his high-fashion product with helping those less fortunate locally. This is a CSR business program that promotes conscious consumerism by allowing consumers to shop their values even when shopping for designer brands.
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional professional fundraising including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.
Bravo to Ron White for this commitment to the triple bottom line. It is so much more than “a shrewd marketing move”. That characterization minimizes the importance of this work. All businesses should seek to incorporate a pillar of social responsibility into their business strategy – however great or small, it all matters.
You are very right Vineca – it is so much more than a shrewed marketing move and is a reflection of the designer’s genuine interest in giving back and helping those less fortunate. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.