Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris “COSeezy” Strachan.
Chris, before we jump into specific questions about the organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my non-profit KIC back in 2017 using sneakers as vehicle to break down social barriers after I took a trip back to my alma mater Liberty University. I was introduced by the school’s pastor to a young man by the name Emmanuel Ntibonera from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was raising sneakers for the people of DRC because they walk on contaminated soil and lack proper footwear (close toed shoes). Sneakers has always been my connection with the world since I was five years old and I felt like I needed to do something about this problem that directly deals with the thing I’m most passionate about. I started an online challenge similar to the ice bucket challenge where I asked followers to send in one pair of gently worn and new shoes and to challenge three people to do the same. Three months later we raised 30k pairs and I made my first trip Rwanda and DR Congo in July of 2017 do deliver shoes, food, clean drinking water and other daily living necessities. Since then we have raised around 100k pairs and have made it an annual mission. We take care of home as well. Since 2015 I have organized disaster reliefs for hurricane Harvey, fed and clothed the homeless in the Bay Area and Sacramento, book bag drives in Dallas, Sacramento and the Bay Area, created online educational platform with Yellowbrick and the fashion institute of technology and complex, made over 1k scholarships available to disadvantaged youth to pursue careers in sneakers, provided multiple once i a lifetime experiences for disadvantaged youth in the Bay Area and Sacramento and provided thousands of school supplies and books to pursue education.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it has not been smooth at all! The struggles have been making all of this happen with very little money but through prayer and rich resources I was able to pull it all together. The resources can be somewhat of a burden at times because the public assumes that the people associated with my organization are pumping money into it and that’s not the case so sometimes the assumption is that I’m some millionaire that can pay for things without help from people watching from the outside. There is nothing easy about Throwing events. There are a lot of moving parts and I think people think it’s something that happens in 1 night or in a few hours.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
It takes a whole village to make this happen. I’ve had a close mentor of mine named Rick Nielson out of Ventura California who has been with me every step of the way from the creating the logo for the brand to showing me the business of marketing and making shirts to boost the awareness of the brand. I wouldn’t be here today without his love and support from the beginning. My friends in the NBA like Stephen Curry, Seth Curry, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Quinn Cook, Demarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and many others have been huge in helping me make events special along the way. My college liberty helped me kick start things and make my first trip to Africa happen. My mother, father, sisters and immediate and extended family share all of my announcements on social media and that goes a long way! My team members have been a part of the daily grind since day one and are the people behind the scenes making it all work! BJ Jenkins who is my Vice President, Tauren Moore who is my assistant, Bryan Smothers who is my director of operations and Eva Hopkins who is my secretary makes this whole thing move as well as my partners at Players Philanthropy fund who keep everything in order and handle all logistics. Without these people we can’t impact the people around the world the way we have over the years and I’m forever grateful for them.
Contact Info:
- Address: Kick’n It For A Cause
7538 stage rd, concord va 24538 - Email: kicknitchris@gmail.com
Image Credit:
COSeezy and Kick’n It For A Cause
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