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Goodie Two Shoes Foundation

Name: Nikki Berti

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Recipient’s Related Charity: Goodie Two Shoes Foundation (GTSF)

Website: www.GoodieTwoShoes.org

How Nikki inspires others:

Growing up with a small-town, middle-class background, Nikki Berti had never been exposed to real poverty until she and her husband, Tony—then an NFL player with the San Diego Chargers—participated in a program run by his team that enabled children in need to choose their own shoes from a retail store. The couple was so moved by the experience that, following Tony’s retirement, they decided to set up a similar but more extensive program in Las Vegas.

Today, Goodie Two Shoes Foundation outfits ten thousand children every year in southern Nevada. Two to three times a month, GTSF brings in seventy volunteers to assist 400 children in need in selecting any pair of shoes they want (all brand-new, boxed and tagged) from a huge mobile shoe store on wheels. Allowing children to choose from a large selection prevents any stigmatization.

Nikki stresses the impact that choosing new shoes can have on a child. Owning a new pair of properly fitting shoes can boost a child’s self-esteem immeasurably by reducing instances of being bullied and by enabling participation in physical education. Nikki believes that with greater self-confidence, kids make positive choices in other areas of their lives, such as school attendance and homework.

As the only nonprofit model of its kind in the United States, GTSF is unique in the service it provides to children in need. While understanding the importance of maintaining its high standards as a regional organization, Nikki also foresees a day when GTSF could help children all over the country.