What started with a Facebook post and a closet full of old shoes has grown into a donation effort expected to provide hundreds of pairs of shoes to students and families throughout the DMV.
Seasonal Roots, a farmers market-style home delivery service operating throughout Maryland and Virginia, has partnered with Montgomery County-based nonprofit Lift Every Step to collect what is estimated to be at least 500 pairs of new and gently used shoes. The company also raised $915 for the organization through donations from its members. A video of the drop-off can be seen below.
The partnership began about two months ago when Seasonal Roots Maryland Expansion Manager Glenn Fellman came across a Facebook post from Lift Every Step asking for shoe donations. Fellman wasn’t familiar with the organization, so he searched for more information and found our previous MoCoShow article highlighting the student-led nonprofit and its work across the region.
Fellman initially planned to donate a closet full of shoes that he had saved from his children over the years. His children had since grown up and moved out, but for one reason or another, the shoes remained.
That gave him another idea, what if Seasonal Roots could help on a much larger scale Seasonal Roots periodically organizes community fundraising programs, with previous efforts benefiting laid-off federal workers, people experiencing food insecurity around the holidays and small farmers facing difficult economic conditions. Fellman, who has spent the past five years helping expand the company’s customer base in Maryland, approached Seasonal Roots owner Duane Slyder about organizing a fundraiser for Lift Every Step.
After several conversations, the idea evolved into both a fundraiser and a large-scale shoe drive that could take advantage of Seasonal Roots’ existing delivery network and approximately 1,800 weekly deliveries across Maryland and Virginia.
The company emailed its members to introduce them to Lift Every Step and asked customers interested in participating to leave their unwanted shoes in bags on their front porches during their next scheduled delivery. When Seasonal Roots drivers arrived to drop off customers’ vegetables, they picked up the donated shoes at the same time.
Approximately 150 Seasonal Roots market managers, who also serve as delivery drivers, participated across an area stretching from Columbia, Maryland, to Hampton Roads, Virginia. By the end of the collection, the shoes filled more than three Gaylords, the large bulk containers commonly used to transport products such as watermelons. “So many of our members have kids,” Slyder told The MoCoShow. “It’s a great cause and puts barely worn shoes kids have outgrown to good use.”
While a final count has not yet been completed, Seasonal Roots estimates that at least 500 pairs of shoes were collected. Lift Every Step is scheduled to count the shoes Friday afternoon. Seasonal Roots also gave its members the option to add a $5 donation to their orders during the drive, generating an additional $915 for Lift Every Step. Fellman and Seasonal Roots presented the organization with a check and the collected shoes Friday at the home of Lift Every Step’s founders.
Lift Every Step was founded earlier this year by Montgomery County students Brianna Frank and her brother Brandon. The registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit collects new and gently used footwear and distributes it to people in need throughout the DMV.
When The MoCoShow first featured the organization earlier this year, Lift Every Step had collected and distributed 621 pairs of shoes to nine schools and community organizations in just its first month after launching in February 2026. The organization had also established 16 donation boxes throughout Montgomery County and the broader DMV. Currently, more than 3,400 have been donated with 20+ donation boxes across the area.
The idea behind Lift Every Step is relatively simple, children frequently outgrow shoes that remain in good condition while other families struggle to afford appropriate footwear. The organization works to connect those two groups by collecting unused shoes and getting them into the hands of people who can use them. “Something as basic as a good pair of shoes can transform a person’s day, their confidence, and their opportunities,” the organization previously shared.
Once the latest donations are sorted, the shoes collected through Seasonal Roots will be distributed to Title I schools throughout the DMV, where students, including student-athletes, whose families may be struggling financially will have an opportunity to receive gently used, high-quality footwear.
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