A foundation honoring a Westminster Christian School cross-country champion has given nearly 500 pairs of new sneakers to people served by nonprofits across Florida since late 2023.
Slick's Kicks Charitable Foundation was created in memory of Victoria "Slick Vick" Hoppe, a Homestead native who won multiple district and regional cross-country titles at Westminster Christian in Palmetto Bay before dying of a rare and aggressive cancer in 2022 at age 25. The South Dade News Leader reported on the foundation's growth Aug. 27.
Hoppe viewed sneakers as an expression of confidence and individuality. Her family carried that outlook into the foundation, which purchases new shoes tailored to each recipient's size, wraps them in tissue paper, places them in a gift box and tags each pair with an inspirational message from Hoppe.
Every pair is hand-delivered to a community partner.
The foundation delivered 30 pairs to people at Chapman Partnership's Homestead campus and 40 pairs to those served by Start Off Smart Inc. at Kristi House/The Healing Sanctuary in Homestead. It is also partnering with BAMN Robotics to give sneakers to students who complete an extracurricular program beginning in September.
Through its membership in the South Dade Chamber of Commerce, the foundation has built relationships with human-services organizations across southern Miami-Dade County and logged more than 400 hours at community networking events.
"All I really want is for my story to inspire everyone to commit to their ongoing journey for themselves," Hoppe said during a 2021 webinar for Yellowbrick Learning Institute's Sneaker Essentials course. That line now accompanies many of the sneakers the foundation distributes.
Eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits can request sneaker gifts at slickskicks.org. Requests are filled in the order received, depending on available funding.
Slick's Kickback fundraiser, Oct. 10
The foundation will host its second annual Slick's Kickback from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at The Gardens of Weber Manor, 21745 Southwest 157th Avenue, Miami. The evening includes appetizers, dinner, adult beverages and live guitar by Sergio De Gouveia, plus presentations from Miami Shoe Museum founder and chief curator Luis Valenzuela and Dick's House of Sport marketing specialist Andrei Espinosa. Tickets start at $81.88 on Eventbrite while supplies last.
