From an early age, girls are often encouraged to put on fancy shoes instead of sneakers, at the same time sneakers are almost exclusively put on boys from an early age. This disparity creates a fundamental disadvantage. We believe that sneakers allow girls to be their true selves. It allows them to move freely, and participate in physical activities like sports. Sports can help girls learn important life skills, and change ideas of self-image. Despite these benefits, social stigma, and lack of access often push young girls away from sports. In fact, girls drop out of sports at two times the rate of boys.

Seeing this disparity of opportunity between genders, Eric Drath, a father of two young girls, wanted to find a way to encourage girls to feel empowered, strong, and confident through athletics. He realized that the simple gesture of offering sneakers could encourage girls to be more confident about themselves. He felt strongly that those who were most in need of such encouragement were the underprivileged, underserved girls living in the shelters of New York City. After conceiving the general concept, he called his best friend from college and roommate John Trbovich, a successful venture capitalist with a daughter. Before Eric could finish his sentence, John said: “let’s do something.” That is how EvenFooting emerged.