Indie Acts of Kindness - Abbadabba’s Gives Back

Abbadabba’s is all about getting people into cool shoes and onto new trails. In their stores, the Abbadabba’s team helps customers find the best pair of shoes for their feet. In the community, they make the Atlanta area a more pleasant place to live and walk – for customers, for employees, and for themselves.

Abbadabba’s has always been committed to finding customers the most comfortable and highest quality shoes for any occasion – from a day at the office to a day at the beach. Their mission comes from the team’s shared passions for hiking, biking, and walking. By supporting countless like-minded initiatives, Abbadabba’s has also shared these passions with the entire community.

Abbadabba’s is a continuous supporter of the Soles4Souls program, which delivers gently worn shoes to people in need across the globe. “We work directly with a local arm of the organization to make sure that shoes donated to any Abbadabba’s store are given back to the people of the Atlanta metro area,” says Kristen Smith, Abbadabba’s chief financial officer.

Similarly, Abbadabba’s has partnered with Yaleet, Inc., maker of Naot shoes, to donate more than $18,000 worth of shoes to victims of domestic violence who are living in local shelters.

In collecting and donating shoes to those in need, Abbadabba’s makes hiking, biking, and everyday walking more comfortable and more feasible for people in the community. Through another project, the store is also making such activities safer. “In 2013, we partnered with Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety (PEDS) to distribute over 2000 yard signs encouraging drivers to slow down and watch for pedestrians,” Kristen says. “This partnership also helped fund PEDS’s work in the city of Atlanta in updating sidewalks and crosswalks and improving the city’s walkability.”

Abbadabba’s also empowers its employees to give back to the community. “We empower our store managers at the local level to donate gift cards and auction items to schools and charities surrounding each of our stores,” Kristen says. The Abbadabba’s leadership considers giving back a necessity and is sure to treat and compensate employees in a way that allows them to carry on the giving in their own lives. “We provide excellent benefits and living wages to all employees, and we make sure we don’t overstress our staff and managers,” Kristen explains. “If there is one thing that we do best for our community, it is the way in which we strive to treat and pay our employees fairly, so that they in turn can give back to the community in a similar fashion.”

With cool shoes and a commitment to the community, Abbadabba’s helps people in and around Atlanta live healthily and walk comfortably. To learn more about Abbadabba’s and the causes it supports, visit www.coolshoes.com.

Indies Acts of Kindness is an ongoing blog series that profiles independent businesses doing exceptional work for their communities, charities, employees, and their customers. If you have a great story to tell please email us at info@IndependentWeStand.org and you could be featured in our blog. .