Fleet Feet, Inc. will meet in Washington D.C. next week for its annual Franchise Conference.  As part of the annual awards banquet, Fleet Feet, Incorporated will award $18,000 in grants to six stores on behalf of its major vendor partners.  These grants, called FITlanthropy Grants, were established to help fund the important work Fleet Feet Sports stores do to support needs in their local communities.  They also provide an opportunity to showcase Fleet Feet's deep appreciation for its vendor partners and their ongoing support of the Fleet Feet Sports brand.

According to Fleet Feet, Incorporated President and CEO, Jeff Phillips, “We are extremely proud of the time and effort our store owners put into supporting health and wellness initiatives in their communities.  These grants allow us to thank our vendor partners and support our stores' goals at the same time.  It's a perfect match.”

Grants will be awarded as follows:

Brooks Sports will award Fleet Feet Sports Jackson a grant for Just Have a Ball, a program with the goal of fighting obesity through education and running in one of the nation’s most obese states.  The money will establish a children's running club for kids ages 6-14 to help them build a foundation of physical fitness and proper nutrition that they can build on in the future.

Saucony will award Fleet Feet Sports Memphis a grant for its initiative Shoes with Mission. The grant will support the store's work with local non-profit organizations to provide gently used, and properly fitting footwear for those less fortunate.

New Balance will award Fleet Feet Sports Sacramento a grant for Project Fit, a free after school running program for children in low socio-economic communities. Currently, this program serves over 1,000 students in one dozen schools in northern California with plans to expand outside the state.

Balega International will award Fleet Feet Sports Hartford a grant to help fund the scholarship they created called Run to a Better Future.  This scholarship provides $10,000 per year for four years to an impoverished student-runner from Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford's inner city.

Superfeet will award Fleet Feet Sports Winston-Salem a grant for Mission: Feet First, which distributes properly fitted footwear to homeless and under-privileged children and families. In the first four months of this year, Mission: Feet First provided footwear, socks, and inserts to over 150 individuals in need.

Nike will award Fleet Feet Sports Gaithersburg a grant for their initiative the Student Athletic Sponsorship Fund.  The money is used to support local organizations such as Girls on the Run, and to provide footwear to children who otherwise could not afford it.  This year they have provided over sixty pairs of shoes to under privileged children.

Currently there are 94 Fleet Feet Sports stores located nationwide.