Nike to donate more than 30,000 shoes to COVID-19 frontline workers
(OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)
To help frontline workers who are on their feet for long hours during the coronavirus pandemic, Nike is donating more than 32,000 pairs Air Zoom Pulse shoes to healthcare workers.
The sportswear giant is partnering with the nonprofit Good360 and local organizations to give staff at various hospitals around the U.S. and Europe a pair of comfortable shoes. The shoes normally retail for $120, according to Forbes.
About 30,000 pairs will go to healthcare workers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis and New York City, and within the Veterans Health Administration. Another 2,500 will be donated to hospitals in Europe, including Barcelona, Berlin, London, Milan, Paris and in Belgium, Nike News reported.
Nike touted the Air Zoom Pulse as the company’s “first shoe designed for the health care athlete, an everyday hero,” in a statement announcing the news.
The shoe’s fit, cushioning and traction systems were touted as being designed to keep the foot secure in hospital settings, and the shoes themselves were designed with considerations from medical professionals at Oregon Health and Science University and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Ore., in mind, Fox News reported.
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“From one athlete to another, Nike athletes recognize the physical and mental resilience of health care athletes,” the brand said, saluting the critical role of health care heroes in the global fight against the novel coronavirus.
About 95,000 pairs of soccer socks with “mild compression” will also be given to health care personnel in New York City and Los Angeles through Good360.
In addition to shoes, teams across Nike have created and donated full-face shields and powered, air-purifying respirator (PAPR) lenses to help protect healthcare workers against the coronavirus.
Nike’s global apparel donation is worth over $5.5 million, the company said.