With the daily bombardment of emails from everyone I’ve ever done business with (and several I’ve never heard of), I almost missed an email from KEEN Footwear that was a bit out of the norm. KEEN’s missive wasn’t the usual update, telling me what precautions they were taking to keep me/their employees/the rest of the world safe.
Instead, KEEN made a simple statement: We know there are a lot of folks out there suffering, and we’d like to help. They specifically want to help those most in need, especially those on the front lines, like health care workers, grocery store employees, public safety personnel, truckers, and the like. KEEN’s offer? An incredible 100,000 pairs of free shoes. Here is the full text of the email from KEEN:
“Dear KEEN Community,
Together we can help.
In 2003, when we started KEEN, we made two promises to ourselves: 1) KEEN will reflect our personal and family values, and 2) We will be more responsible citizens of the planet, embrace other cultures and ideas, and make a positive contribution.
Today, the world is facing the COVID-19 virus, a pandemic that has advanced rapidly, shutting down global capitals and causing loss of life on nearly every continent. With large swaths of the population forced into seclusion, the economic and human costs are rising.
We understand shoes may not be a priority for some, but making shoes that help people get outside and get the job done is what we do best – it’s the unique skill we bring to the world.
So in keeping with the original promises we made when we started this company, we have made a pledge to provide up to 100,000 pairs, about $10,000,000 in shoes, to the workers on the front lines and the families at home fighting through the crisis. Whether these shoes help a worker stay comfortable during a long shift or simply allow people to get outside to breathe in the benefits of nature while safely practicing social distancing, we feel compelled to share our strengths for the common good.
And, to do that, we’re asking for your help. Let us know who you feel could use some help during this difficult time, and we’ll provide them with a new pair of shoes at no cost. During times like these, we all need to share our strengths, and we believe working together we can make a positive impact.
Sincerely,
Our KEEN Family”
KEEN To Help
We’ve been fans of the KEEN brand for a long time, and have reviewed several offerings from the KEEN Utility line of work footwear. Most recently, we looked at the “Hell-proof” KEEN Utility Philadelphia work boots for men, and a pair of KEEN Utility Seattle work boots for the ladies. We were very impressed with the build quality and ruggedness of both styles. KEEN has been at this footwear-making thing for a while, and they’re very good at it. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re making more and more of their products here in the U.S.
In conjunction with the quality products they make, we’ve also long admired their commitment to giving back. According to their web site, since 2004 KEEN “has donated over $18 million in cash and in-kind contributions, volunteered thousands of hours of service to public lands stewardship, engaged in community development programs, pitched in on river clean-ups, deployed to sites of natural disasters to help muck and gut houses, and provide relief funding for natural disaster survivors near and far.”
KEEN Footwear Brings A Ray Of Sunshine – Someone Else Brought A Dark Cloud
This latest extraordinarily generous offer will provide comfortable, quality footwear to a huge number of people who are working long hours, often in extremely stressful circumstances. People like my sister-in-law, working 12-hour shifts as a nurse. Or my extremely stressed-out sister, working six-day weeks trying to keep shelves stocked in a supermarket in a Colorado tourist town, coming in contact with hundreds of strangers every day. And tens of thousands of workers in similar situations, for whom a new pair of shoes could be a very welcome morale booster – not to mention a welcome change for their tired tootsies.
KEEN’s terms for the giveaway are that they will give away up to 100,000 pairs of shoes, and they must be claimed by March 24. Meantime, illustrating that “No good deed goes unpunished”, a scammer or group of scammers has hacked KEEN’s system, trying to divert large quantities of the footwear for their own profit.
KEEN has temporarily shut down the nomination process, while they try to figure out how to keep the scammers out; hopefully they’ll have it up and running again soon. Meanwhile, I’m a strong believer in karma, and I suspect there’s a special place in hell for all those trying to profit from other people’s misery and misfortune to satisfy their own greed. And hopefully, not even a pair of “Hellproof” boots will save them.
How KEEN Can Help You Get A Pair
In any case, until they have the problem resolved, you’ll get a message informing you of the problem, so just keep trying. If we get word that the problem has been resolved, we’ll post it at the end of this article.
You can nominate one person, so think about the one person you know who would benefit most from KEEN’s generous gesture. Both of you must be residents of the U.S. or Canada, and at least 18 years of age. Click on the link below, and fill out the simple form.
Each recipient will receive an email from KEEN with information about how to collect their free pair of shoes, which can be chosen from a selection of styles determined by KEEN. Kudos to our friends at KEEN, and best of luck to all of our readers out there, as we navigate the new, but TEMPORARY, normal.
Editor’s Note:
Looks like the giveaway is back up and running as of yesterday (03/22/2020)
As of the evening of Saturday March 21, the site is once again operational. Awesome job, people of KEEN, and thanks again!