By: Tessah Schoenrock

BEARPAW loves to get involved with the community, especially when it comes to charitable causes. It’s a year-round endeavor, but I wanted to call attention to a very special Lady Foot Locker holiday boot giveaway the brand participated in (alongside collaborator Karina Smirnoff) to distribute free BEARPAW boots to needy women. How cool is it for a large company like LFL to get involved with a charitable group Women in Need to host an event that produces immediate, direct results in the form of a straight-up practical and stylish gift to over 1,000 women in need across the five boroughs of New York? Women in Need is a nonprofit organization based in New York that offers a wide slate of programs and services for women and whatever issues may be holding them back (domestic abuse, substance abuse, transition, etc). WIN serves over 2500 women on a daily basis, and values the community the same way as Lady Foot Locker and our very own BEARPAW, who is LFL’s lead partner in the boot business right now.

The event, which took place this past December at the Lady Foot Locker flagship store on 34th Street in NYC, wouldn’t have happened without the help and awareness of Bonnie Stone, president of WIN, and Lauren Bristow, VP of Brand Marketing for Lady Foot Locker. Lauren, who has been VP at LFL for 13 years, was kind enough to sit down with me recently to reflect on this incredible event!

Tessah Schoenrock: How did Lady Foot Locker get involved with Women in Need?

Lauren Bristow: Lady Foot Locker had never worked with WIN professionally, but several of my co-workers have worked for the organization independently, and everyone had such wonderful things to say about them. We really felt that working with Women in Need was a perfect match for us. They really value their connection to the community, which is important for those of us in marketing to think about over the holiday season. It is not only important on a marketing level, however – it is important for us to build a relationship with our consumers by showing them we care about more than just the people who buy our products.

Tessah: Wow, that’s really cool. Why did you choose an organization targeted toward women?

Lauren: Well, Lady Foot Locker is a brand targeted toward women, so it was really important to us to reach out this time of year to the female consumer because we know there are a lot of situations in which she is potentially under-served and under-appreciated. We also really wanted to keep a relationship and connection with WIN, who worked with us to create this incredible moment that produced direct results.

Tessah: It’s fantastic that you guys were able to keep this event streamlined without losing sight of what it was all about – getting those free boots in the hands of the women who need them! How did the December event come together?

Lauren: To create an event that would produce direct results, we wanted to make sure the boots we were giving away reached the the needy within 24 hours. At the store, I spoke to the crowd for a few minutes about Lady Foot Locker, our involvement, and why we felt the event was important. Then, Bonnie (President of WIN) spoke about her organization and the benefits of partnering with us at Lady Foot Locker. Karina [Smirnoff] was also on hand for the event and spoke to some key media partners at a private luncheon we had set up. Afterward, she, myself, Bonnie, and the rest of the ladies from Women in Need loaded up a van with approximately 1500 pairs of BEARPAWs, and they were driven directly to the WIN facility and distributed same-day!

Tessah: How did Karina get involved?

Lauren: Karina is originally from New York, so she really understands the need for groups like WIN. She came to show her support out of the goodness of her own heart!

Tessah: Gosh, she sure is sweet, isn’t she? And you, helping load all those boots into the van – aren’t you pregnant?

Lauren: Yes, I’m 8 months, but the work wasn’t very hard and I knew how important this event was – I didn’t want to just stand on the sidelines and watch. Part of what this is all about is showing that we care enough about our community to get involved, so I got involved!

Tessah: You go, girl! Is there anything you’d like to add?

Lauren: Part of our goal with this giveaway was to gain awareness for WIN, because we appreciate how much they do for our community. As a show of our continued support for their efforts, we will donate an additional pair of BEARPAW boots to WIN for every person who likes us on Facebook. It’s such a quick and easy thing to do, we felt this event wouldn’t be complete without it.

So there you have it – it’s quick, it’s easy, and we wouldn’t ask you to do it if it wasn’t important! So, BEARPAW peeps, make sure you “like” Lady Foot Locker on Facebook to help us keep spreadin’ that BEARPAW love! And here’s to more wonderful charitable work throughout 2012!

Tessah Schoenrock is a writer living in Los Angeles.

Photos Courtesy of Steven Katz