Famous Footwear 2005 Annual Report Download - page 12

Giving฀back
As฀a฀national฀March฀of฀Dimes฀partner,฀Famous฀Footwear’s฀employees฀
participate฀in฀WalkAmerica฀events฀in฀more฀than฀1,100฀communities฀
nationwide.
Our฀partnership฀with฀The฀Jackie฀Robinson฀Foundation
signifies฀our฀commitment฀to฀helping฀shape฀the฀minds
of฀the฀best฀and฀brightest฀leaders฀of฀tomorrow.
At Brown Shoe, we are committed to giving back to
the communities where we live and work. Giving back
is part of our heritage. It started in 1878 with our
founder, George Warren Brown, who became a noted
philanthropist. The precedent he set continues to this day.฀
In 2005, contributions to charitable organizations by
Brown Shoe, its divisions and subsidiaries – including
those made by the Brown Shoe Charitable Trust –
exceeded $1.8 million. In addition, we undertook
customer initiatives that raised $500,000 for breast
cancer research and $1 million for the March of Dimes’
Prematurity Campaign, which helps families have
healthier babies. Finally, when Katrina struck Gulf Coast
families, we sent truckloads of children’s shoes to those
who had left theirs behind.
A major portion of our charitable funding goes to support
higher education. Last year, for example, we began a
partnership with The Jackie Robinson Foundation. This
not-for-profit organization grants four-year scholarships
to minority students who demonstrate academic distinc-
tion, civic engagement and leadership.
Giving฀back฀|฀EDUCATION
As a long-time supporter of the arts, we sponsor events
like Art in Bloom at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Art in Bloom showcases floral artists who create
masterpieces inspired by great works from the
museum’s collection.
When it comes to helping those in need, the generosity
of our employees is overwhelming. Brown Shoe head-
quarters employees rank among the highest per capita
givers to the United Way. We therefore funnel our human
services support through the United Way as well as our
industry’s Two-Ten Foundation, which provides charitable
funds and services each year to families associated with
the footwear industry.
Through฀“Days฀of฀Caring”฀outings,฀employees฀
spend฀time฀with฀families฀and฀children฀receiving฀
support฀from฀United฀Way฀agencies.
where฀shoes฀are฀
฀฀฀always฀in฀bloom.฀฀฀
We฀sponsor฀Art฀in฀Bloom,฀one฀of฀the฀Saint฀Louis฀Art฀Museum’s฀
most฀popular฀events,฀visited฀by฀thousands฀each฀year.
Giving฀back฀|฀HELPING THOSE IN NEED
Giving฀back฀|฀ARTS฀&฀CULTURE
Through our commitment to good corporate citizenship,
we strive to make a difference in our communities, working
closely with organizations that are improving the quality of
life today, tomorrow, and always.฀฀