For as long as they can remember, Sam Harper and Michael Mader dreamed of opening a sock company. Then, one fall day in 2016, they learned that socks are the most requested but least donated item at homeless shelters.
Driven by their entrepreneurial spirit and desire to make a positive change, Harper and Mader started Hippy Feet as a social impact business to help homeless youth.
Initially a “buy one give one” model, Hippy Feet donated 20,000 socks in its first few years. And in 2019, after seeing the same faces on the streets month after month, Hippy Feet decided to tackle the problem at its core by providing jobs and training for homeless youth aged 18-24. It teaches them work and life skills and provides them with resources to make it independently in the world. The program is now the backbone of Hippy Feet and has employed 160 homeless youth to date.
