We’re excited to announce a new collaboration at Patterson-Schwartz! 🎉 Introducing our charitable partnership with the Friends of Fusion Foundation, an organization dedicated to aiding efforts that offer crucial support to children, young adults, and first responders across Delaware. Together, we’re on a mission to provide sneakers to every homeless child enrolled Delaware public schools through the Shoes That Fit Program.
Shoes That Fit, Delaware
Founded in 1992 in California, Shoes That Fit has chapters in every state and helped nearly 165,000 kids nationwide in 2023. The Delaware chapter, started in 1998 by Newark resident Joanne Glauser, has provided shoes to an estimated 40,000 children.
Shoes That Fit defines homeless students as those who lack fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The children and teens benefiting from the program are often sharing housing due to economic hardship, or living in emergency shelters or medical facilities. Earlier this year, the Delaware chapter identified 3,291 students needing their assistance with new sneakers: 804 in Kent County, 1,960 in New Castle County, and 527 in Sussex County.
Infusing Hope
“When The Shoes That Fit program came across our radar, it was all we talked about,” says Brian Hadley, PSA Hockessin sales associate and board member of the Friends of Fusion Foundation (FOF).
The Friends of Fusion Foundation has a strong track record of helping the local community. Since joining FOF in late December 2023, Brian has helped organize a golf outing that raised over $12,000 and a donor recognition event where seven FOF supporters each received $1,000 to donate to a charity of their choice. He is also in the final stages of planning a mid-July event with the Facebook group, Hockessin Gossip Girls.
In May 2024, The Friends of Fusion Foundation committed $30,000 to support Shoes That Fit through community donations.
“The Friends of Fusion mission is to help those around us who need it most,” says Brian. “When we learned about the Shoes That Fit program, we quickly decided to aim higher and help every homeless child in Delaware, not just in New Castle County.”
Brian emphasized that partnering with PSA was a natural fit due to their shared commitment to community support. “The reach that PSA has with our agents and affiliates is massive,” he shared. “I’m excited to see and hear the positive impact we can make by providing name-brand shoes to every homeless child in the state.”
Kicking Off a Charitable Partnership
Not long after meeting with members from the Friends of Fusion Foundation, Patterson-Schwartz signed on in support of their Shoes That Fit fundraising goal, committing to donate one pair of shoes for every closed transaction in August.
“Reading about homeless students being fitted with new sneakers after dealing so long with ill-fitting shoes, and how it positively affected their self-esteem and school performance, was inspiring,” says Donna Greenspan, PSA’s EVP and Managing Broker of the PSA Brandywine Sales Center. “We’re joining FOF to amplify the Shoes That Fit cause during what is typically one of our busiest months, ensuring every disadvantaged child has the shoes they need for the school year ahead.”
In addition to fundraising through transactions, Patterson-Schwartz will raise awareness for the Shoes That Fit cause with online and in-person donation events, including an upcoming summer networking event at the beach.
Click here to learn more about the PSA and Friends of Fusion Shoes That Fit Campaign.
About Us
At Patterson-Schwartz, we believe in giving back to our community. In addition to the countless hours our sales associates and employees dedicate to charitable causes, we donate a portion of the proceeds from every real estate transaction to the PSA Foundation. Since 2001, the PSA Foundation has donated nearly $1.4 million to local charities and organizations close to our hearts