Ross Evans, Peggy Kim Meill, Pamela McCarthy of Two Ten

Our first Young Professionals Group meeting for Two Ten seemed to be quite the success. There were more than 20 of us there to begin the initiatives to not only become the next faces of the charity but to raise awareness now. I was not quite sure what to expect as I was heading to the Deer Stags showroom, and since I still don’t know my way around the fabulous city of New York all that well sometimes, it took me a good ten minutes just to find the door to their building. Can you imagine I was standing in front of an electronic store staring at the exact address of the Deer Stags showroom? I was certainly puzzled and as I was really about to make myself nuts, I peeked around the corner to see the address displayed on the building in nice big numbers. Silly me….anyhow, luckily I made it in and the first person I ran into was Alison Muskat, who I did not know until that moment. She was so welcoming and I really enjoyed speaking with her….of course I could be saying that because she complimented me on my shoes (quite the compliment considering who it was coming from and by the way, they were my Stuart Weitzman’s) and my outfit, gave me a place to charge my dead blackberry AND offered me a glass of wine. What a way to be treated!! I next ran into Ross who was obviously very excited about the meeting and this great new project. We chatted briefly, but then it was time for business!

It was a bit hot in the Deer Stags showroom as we all piled into the conference room, but I certainly didn’t mind. I was so delighted to see Peggy Kim Meill sitting there. She is the reason I met Ross in the first place, but the reason I was excited is because I can vividly remember a dinner two years ago during the December FFANY were Peggy was honored. I can only hope I am fortunate enough to make such a positive impact on as many people as Peggy has. She speaks with true grace, intelligence, care and wisdom and it is simply inspiring. There were also several other great people in the room including the President of RG Barry’s, Dearfoams Brand, Doug Yannucci, Tara Bodt from the men’s shoe company Robert Wayne, Debbie Stadley Augustad and Cindy Chen-Derkacz, both of Shop NBC, and Heather Primus and Suzanne Villegas of ENK (who I hope are not mad at me). Those were just the ones I was able to meet, but also in attendance was representation from Payless/Stride Rite, Steve Madden, Footwear News, PUMA , Shane and Shawn Shoes and of course Deer Stags who are leading the initiative. So yes, it was a great crowd and a great start to building a solid team of young leaders in the industry. Just to clarify young is used loosely and it can qualify someone who is young in the industry, young at heart or simply very very immature (kidding).

During the meeting, Ross and Alison spoke in detail about what Two Ten truly stands for. Did you know that it was started in 1939 at the address 210 Lincoln Street?? Now it’s making sense….It was started by a group of shoemakers who literally all threw their money into a hat, donating their hard earned money to help their fellow industry families who suffered from the effects of the Great Depression. Amazing. Now fast forward to 70+ years later….Two Ten gives away millions of dollars each year to support our industry in various ways. They recently started a scholarship program in China and they have had scholarships programs here in the US for more than 30 years, but their major contribution each year is with their financial assistance program for people who work in the industry. Did you know that anyone can ask for help?? Whether it was for groceries or a mortgage payment, Two Ten gave over $1.1 million dollars last year to aide those suffering financially in our industry and they have amazingly committed to doubling that in the year to come. They are able to raise money through various outlets, but need all of our help to reach their goal. You should help, because chances are someone you are connected to in some way has been affected by this economy and could get help from Two Ten. Just ask Alison, who decided that she wanted to help after finding out that 3 Deer Stags employees had received assistance from Two Ten.

So without dragging this on and on, to sum it up, the Young Professionals group will consist of three to four committees who will focus on raising funds and awareness for Two Ten through Community Service Projects, Events, Mentoring and Outreach/Education. They are encouraging for everyone to get involved and I personally am proud to do so. I love helping where I am needed and Two Ten is saying they need me. This is a fun and amazing opportunity to be a part of the next generation of “do gooders”. Why shouldn’t it include you??

If you have any questions regarding the group or the charity, please email Ross Evans at: revans@twoten.org. I am sure he will be happy to hear from you!!!