Crocs to donate 14,000 shoes to Dayton hospitals

Crocs relocated its main distribution center from California to Dayton. The new distribution center, at 10391 Dog Leg Road, spans 550,000 square-feet and will employ about 250 people. A ribbon-cutting in October. BONNIE MEIBERS/STAFF

Crocs relocated its main distribution center from California to Dayton. The new distribution center, at 10391 Dog Leg Road, spans 550,000 square-feet and will employ about 250 people. A ribbon-cutting in October. BONNIE MEIBERS/STAFF

Crocs is lending a helping hand for health care workers’ feet.

Footwear maker Crocs — which opened a Dayton distribution center near the Dayton International Airport in recent months — is donating 14,000 pairs of shoes to the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association to distribute through the local Ohio health systems, a Crocs spokesman said in an email Friday.

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Heidelberg Distributing and JobsOhio are supporting the effort.

“These shoes will reach hospitals large and small, including Dayton Children’s, Kettering Medical Center, Miami Valley Hospital, and Wilson Memorial Hospital among others,” a Crocs spokesman told the Dayton Daily News. “Deliveries are being coordinated through the generosity of Heidelberg Distributing Company.”

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“Like everyone, we’ve been closely monitoring the news and working hard to map out a way to most effectively help where we can,” Crocs President and Chief Executive Andrew Rees said in a statement. “Over the past week, we have spoken to healthcare workers, their facilities and even their family and friends, and they have specifically asked for our shoes in an effort to provide ease on their feet, as well as ease of mind as they need the ability to easily clean up before they go home to their families.

“The Dayton community has warmly welcomed Crocs with our new distribution center, and are pleased to partner with JobsOhio for this donation of 14,000 pairs of Crocs to help our heroes in healthcare in the Dayton region,” Rees also said.

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