When Carlmont High School seniors Ethan Kam and Gabriel Fridman met in their marketing class about a year ago, they bonded over a mutual passion for starting something new. 

“We felt that entrepreneurial spirit,” Fridman said. “We wanted to start something to help people out. We noticed all these shoes laying around in out garages and we thought ‘what better than to take those and donate them to people in need?’”

From there, A Step Forward emerged. In the fall of 2022, Kam and Fridman initiated the nonprofit organization with an aim to collect and donate lightly worn shoes to those in need. Since they first started collecting and donating shoes in March 2023, the high school seniors have donated approximately 5000 shoes to local homeless shelters. 

The team initially envisioned leading a large-scale operation involving international shipping, but soon encountered obstacles. 

“We [initially] thought we were going to [donate] shoes to kids and people who are less fortunate in other countries,” Kam said. “[But] we realized how difficult it might be to ship these shoes [outside] the country. So we … [decided] to scale it back a little bit, and that's where we got the idea of contacting local shelters.”

With a newfound focus, Kam and Fridman had to organize a strong, motivated team for the overall success of the nonprofit. 

In the winter of 2022, Carlmont senior Myles Hu was invited to join A Step Forward. After forming a core team of eight students, Kam, Fridman and Hu were able to transition to collecting shoes. The team explored multiple avenues when reaching out to people. 

“We [went on] social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor and asked our local community [if they had] extra shoes lying around,” Hu said. “We were also trying to door-knock, or go up to houses in our communities and ask if they had any shoes they’d like to [donate]”

The team’s very first donation in early 2023 consisted of about 300 shoes. The initial success motivated them to cast a wide net and reach out to other organizations like the Catholic Worker House and other local homeless shelters around the Bay Area for partnerships. As they transitioned to frequent biweekly donations nearing the summer of 2023, A Step Forward started to expand their network.

“Towards the end of junior year, some other members of our team communicated with elementary schools like Fox Elementary School and Central Elementary School in Belmont,” Hu said. “We held shoe drives there [and … went] to their classes to give them a little presentation about what our mission was.”

The Carlmont students established drop-off bins in approximately seven different locations throughout Redwood Shores and San Carlos to increase their donations.In parallel to establishing growing partnerships, they are also working on finding ways to help A Step Forward last beyond their time at high school. 

“We're working towards getting more juniors and sophomores to join the program, so we can carry on [our] nonprofit,” Hu said. “We’re trying to branch out to other people [so] when we graduate … they can still keep collecting and donating shoes.”

A Step Forward’s team is made up entirely of high school students. For them, maintaining balance is critical in order to ensure the success of their organization and their individual commitments.

“It’s very self-motivated,” Fridman said. “You need to step up to the plate and actually get things done when they need to be done … I balance everything [by] just taking it one step at a time. You don't need to do everything all at once.”

The nonprofit organization has helped the team connect with each other as they work to achieve a shared goal. 

“I'm not seeing this as something that I have to do — it's something that I want to do,” Kam said. “It's not like a job where you have to work and … put in your hours. Doing this with friends is almost like we’re hanging out where we’re doing something we enjoy doing”

Through A Step Forward, the students were able to mold their experience into one of greater meaning as they increased their involvement in helping the local community. 

“We … served breakfast [and started] to help out the homeless shelters that we initially thought we’d just be donating shoes to,” Kam said. “Seeing the joy in everybody's face when we drive in is so rewarding. [We’re doing] something we wouldn't expect would have such a big impact on these people, but it does.”

As the high school students envision a lasting legacy for A Step Forward, they continue to work on finding other ways to leave an impact on their community.