Foundation Launches Feet for LifeTM
CONTACT: Bill Boettge 866-921-8645
DATE: November 17, 2010
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
Pedorthic Foundation Launches Feet for Life™ to Help Limited-Income Patients with Diabetes
Orlando, FL—The Pedorthic Foundation today announced the launch of “Feet for Life”™, the largest single charitable function sponsored by the pedorthic community.
The program will offer donated footwear, socks and related products to people who have diabetes and are on limited incomes. Feet for Life™ was made possible by a major gift of up to 10,000 pairs of shoes and funding from Aetrex Worldwide, Inc. It will begin as a group of pilot programs, in which credentialed pedorthists donate their services to patients, who must meet certain eligibility requirements to apply for the free footwear. The Foundation plans to expand Feet for Life™ from the initial participating facilities by tapping the nation's network of credentialed pedorthists and the facilities in which they work during 2011.
Feet for Life™ was announced at a special reception held at Orlando's Hilton Walt Disney World Resort, the site of the first North American Pedorthic Congress. The Congress is a four-day symposium on pedorthics that is jointly sponsored by America's Pedorthic Footcare Association and Canada's Pedorthic Association of Canada. More than one thousand practicing pedorthists are attending the Congress, which has also attracted registrants from other countries.
“Aetrex has really stepped up to make this program happen,” said Darlene Hall, C.Ped., L.Ped-OK, president of the Foundation. “This program is very special for two reasons: First, it will help people with diabetes to take proper care of their feet, reducing the risk of amputation. Second, it allows the pedorthic community – credentialed pedorthists, as well as the manufacturers and suppliers who produce the products we use in the practice of pedorthics – to shine a spotlight on what we do, and on how pedorthics can make a dramatic difference in individual heath care.”
One in ten adults in the U.S. has diabetes, and that number is expected to grow to one in three, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Diabetes is the number one cause of adult lower limb amputations. Proper footwear and footcare can reduce the risk significantly.
“The foundation of our company is in pedorthic-oriented footcare products, so we're keenly aware of the devastating effects diabetes can have on people's feet and mobility,” said Larry Schwartz, Aetrex CEO. “We know how dramatically the right footwear can improve people's health and overall wellness, and are eager to help people who are in need.”
Hall added that additional suppliers will be invited to donate footwear, and that credentialed pedorthists throughout the U.S. will be asked to donate their professional services to fit and dispense the footwear, and to provide administrative time to send in a patient's application. Patients whose applications are approved will pay only a $10 processing fee. To be eligible, their household income must be below a set level. When an application is approved, the order will be forwarded to the footwear company donating shoes, and the company will ship it at no cost to the facility. All processing will be done online.
The Foundation, a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit charitable organization. Since its creation, it has provided “bridge funding” to dozens of researchers whose work focuses on human mobility and locomotion, and given thousands of dollars in scholarship assistance to people committed to becoming credentialed pedorthists. Aetrex Worldwide, Inc., headquartered in Teanuck, New Jersey, began as a maker of comfort and wellness footwear and foot orthotics, with product emphasis on performance, quality and fashion. Several years ago, the company developed iStep, now the leading digital foot scanning technology.
For additional information, or to inquire about participating in Feet for Life™, please visit the Foundation's website, www.pedorthicfoundation.org or contact Foundation executive director Bill Boettge at 866-921-8645.
