SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football players will wear cleats Saturday promoting four local charities in what the program is calling its “Cleats For A Cause” initiative.
The idea, which was inspired by a similar concept in the NFL, was sparked by Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser and some of the Irish captains for the 2022 season. The football program selected four charities its players have worked with in the area to honor: South Bend Center for the Homeless, Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County, YMCA of Greater Michiana and Cultivate Food Rescue.
Each pair of cleats worn by Notre Dame players in Saturday’s game against UNLV (2:30 p.m. EDT on Peacock) will include a logo from one of the four charities with custom designs created by artists Mo Gafar and David Zambrano in partnership with Under Armour. Beyond raising awareness for these charities, Notre Dame will also auction off the cleats with proceeds collected to benefit the charities.
Bids for the game-worn cleats can be placed starting Friday at UND.com/cleats4acause.
“They were involved from the very beginning,” Notre Dame football director of player personnel Dave Peloquin said of how the players have embraced this initiative. “This was really them pushing it to try to do something unique and give back. The emphasis on giving back to the local community. It was the four local charities that they're involved with and they see. That's really where it started.
“Then a thank you to Under Armour, who's our main partner that came in from a brand standpoint to provide us the cleats, provide us some swag for the guys wear pregame (Saturday). That's where it started and then the guys really kind of took it from there, in particular Jack Kiser.”
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Head coach Marcus Freeman will also be wearing a pair of shoes with all four charities represented on them.
Some Notre Dame players have been working with these local charities for months or even years. Defensive end Isaiah Foskey told Inside ND Sports about his work with Cultivate Food Rescue, an organization that helps redistribute perishable foods and provide the community with wholesome meals, earlier this year. Foskey started working with food banks as a middle school student at Holy Rosary Catholic in Antioch, Calif.
Foskey spent a day at South Bend's Madison STEAM Academy this summer helping deliver meals.
“You can see why you're doing this,” Foskey said. “A lot of people are in the warehouse looking at the food and making the food. They’re not able to give it to the kids. I was able to do both. It was a great feeling to do both.”
Jim Conklin, co-founder and executive director of Cultivate Food Rescue, enjoyed watching Foskey interact with the kids.
“I remember one young man was pretty upset that Isaiah was leaving the classroom, and the tears were flowing down his eyes,” Conklin said. “Isaiah saw it, and he asked him to come out in the hallway and gave him a hug. You saw those tears turn into a smile. That's what these players can do. They have a platform that's pretty amazing.
“This university has a platform, too, that can make a difference in our communities. We have a lot of neighbors that are really struggling right now. And this will make a difference. It will make a positive impact in our community and hopefully beyond our community.”
Notre Dame starting right tackle Blake Fisher and tight end Michael Mayer have been among the players to spend time with the local YMCAs. Fisher grew up going to a YMCA himself as a child in the Indianapolis area.
“The YMCA for me was a place to get away and give back, that's just who I am,” Fisher said earlier this month. “As a man, as a person, that's how I grew up. It's never about me. It's always who's around me and how can I make you know those other people around me better?”
Mayer made weekly trips to a YMCA in June.
“I've loved going there playing with all the kids,” Mayer said in July. “The kids are crazy and energetic all the time asking a million questions. Every time I'd go there, I would get a new question about football or Notre Dame or something like that. So I had to be ready for the questions I was going to get when I went there, but it's been a great experience.”
Representatives from all four of the charities spent time Thursday sharing the impact Notre Dame has made on their organizations and what the “Cleats For A Cause” initiative has meant to them.
Stephanie Cerney of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County
“First of all, we're very grateful to be with these other non-profits that do such great work in our community. To be chosen to have your logo on a Notre Dame football cleat is not just great for the cachet that brings, but it's also for the positive impact that happens both as a result of this initiative, but also the daily impact that having football players in our clubs and also other Notre Dame athletes.
“It's not lip service. They're at our clubs. They're with kids. Our kids look forward to those interactions. It shows them what's possible in life that maybe is not in their day to day. They can dream of a world that's much bigger than South Bend, Indiana. It's kind of this perfect culmination of what happens on the football field is so much more than what happens on the football field. It's really making a difference in the lives of kids in our community.”
More from Cerney: “You learn so much as an athlete of any kind. Whether it's our kids that play in the intramural basketball league with other Boys & Girls Clubs around the area or whether it's on the football field, you learn important concepts about teamwork and resilience and all those things that resonate with kids of all ages.
“So, when the athletes come in, they have stories to tell that they've learned in their experiences and, frankly, they listen to those people better maybe than their moms and dads and other adults in their lives. Those are just kind of universal themes that that resonate throughout to all of the kids that we serve throughout our clubs.”
Taya Chapman of South Bend Center for the Homeless
“We had a group of the football players, the freshmen, come down on Tuesday, and they helped us clean out an area. They then sat and had a meal with about 10 to 15 of our guests. Came up, they sat around a table, they shared stories with each other. It was just really cool for the players to be able to interact. The guests were very starstruck as well — got some autographs and asked questions. It just made them feel great.
“One of the big messages that came out just from Tuesday was seeking to understand. Seek to understand what someone else is going through. Seek to understand even where that football player is coming from and just the different backgrounds. So, it was really neat to see them just sit around a table and share stories. It means a lot.”
On seeing the South Bend Center for the Homeless logo on the cleats: “We were all a little starstruck. This is the University of Notre Dame and your logo is on a cleat. Knowing that it came from the players saying we want to give back, this is what we want to do, means so much.
“The university is such a staple in the community. When the center started back in 1988, it was founded from a couple guys here and with Father (Edward A.) Malloy to say, this is a need in our community and we're going to get behind it. When you have Cultivate talking about the university getting behind them because it's a need, and they can offer that research and support, it's so cool.
“They have the guys down there and you realize they're 18, 19, 20 years old, and they're making such an impact. It's like, ‘Oh, my gosh! My son's 15. What's he going to do?’ It's really starstruck and you feel very elite and in a very special club, so it's really cool.”
Charles King III of YMCA of Greater Michiana
“First and foremost, I’m a lifelong Notre Dame. For me to work for the Y and see that Y logo — and I’m a Y kid as well — it means a lot for me to see that on these cleats. The community, it's unbelievable to see a national shoe brand recognizing local charities and not-for-profits.”
On Fisher’s involvement with the YMCA: “Blake Fisher is larger than life. He’s a big guy. And the kids absolutely love him. He's interacted with them. He taught one of our youth how to swing. That's extremely important to a small kid. He's definitely been very active with all the kids at the Y.”
Jim Conklin of Cultivate Food Rescue
“Cultivate’s a pretty young organization, just five years old in food rescue. Notre Dame was our first food partner and has partnered in many ways with Cultivate. Even adding to this, of our community partners up here, we're kind of the new kid on the block. To be on the field with them is a big deal to us as well. They've done great work in this community for a long time.
“I'm a lifelong Notre Dame fan as well. My dad was. His dad was. Multi-generational. This partnership personally is important to me. But what I've learned is it's more than about football. There's a genuine care the university has for our community and the needs that we have. They really are great community ambassadors. Their reach is pretty significant, especially for populations that struggle, our neighbors that are hurting right now. Their partnership is pretty much invaluable to us. I certainly would not be standing here without Notre Dame being one of our first partners in a brand new not-for-profit.”
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