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About Us
There are children in our community who are in extreme need for basic necessities. We are here to provide relief with one pair of SHOES at a time.
WHO WE ARE
His Little Feet Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to helping children get the SHOES they need. His Little Feet empowers youths ages 1 ½ - 18 years old experiencing neglect and extreme
poverty. Our organization focuses on providing new high quality running SHOES to children to help open the door to increase physical health, confidence, athletics, and healthy peer relationships. We serve underprivileged youth in temporary shelters, child services system and facing crisis in the greater Long Beach area, Riverside and Orange Counties.
We collect, purchase, and distribute new SHOES, socks and school supplies to shelters, foster care , and schools, with the goal to help children in need of footwear.
His Little Feet provides brand new high quality shoes for children who are facing homelessness and poverty. His Little Feet seeks to eradicate this easily fixable issue by offering new athletic shoes that provide physical support as well as mental and emotional support for a young person already stigmatized by the trauma of homelessness.
OUR WHY
1 in 5 children in the U.S. cannot afford to wear properly fitting, new shoes.
Podiatrists recommend resizing your growing child's feet three times a year. Children experience multiple periods of growth, within these periods. The effect that a proper pair of fitting SHOES can have on gait function, foot formation, and healthy bone structure is detrimental. For a family experiencing homelessness and poverty, it is difficult to afford new SHOES every four months. Many children wear used, broken and ill-fitting shoes that not only can cause potential permanent pain, but also creates embarrassment and shame leading to social isolation and school absences.
Considering one of the first visible signs of poverty is reflected in one’s shoes. Children and youths who wear properly fitted shoes have a significant increase in self-esteem. This will directly result in improved physical activity, school attendance and positive peer engagement! Something as simple and overlooked as a pair of new SHOES makes a huge difference in the life of a child!
Although it may seem simple, providing a single pair of SHOES can greatly impact the life of children in the foster care system or who are experiencing homelessness and poverty.
board of directors
Hali Wolf
Founder / Executive Director
Hali Wolf founder and Executive Director of His Little Feet is a proud mother of 3, Joseph
USMC veteran and underwater engineer, Josh, a junior in HS, and on the principals honor roll, and Ava, sophomore is a principals honor roll student. Hali enjoys teaching them how to drive, build meaningful friendships, but nothing is more fulfilling than helping them grow in their faith! Paddle boarding and road cycling are ways she enjoys the weekends!
For 25+ years Hali has operated business in the beauty industry in Seal Beach and styled for the red-carpet events in LA as a celebrity stylist.
Hali served and represented the city of Long Beach as a title holder Ms. Long Beach 2020-2021 and was chosen for The Women of Distinction award by Patrick O'Donnell district 70 in March
2022. In August Hali was recognized by Rex Richardson, major of the city of Long Beach, as a Rising Start/ Women Of Achievement for making the world a better place in 2023!
When she is not helping kids get the shoes they need she enjoys reading , going to coffee with friends and meditating in the Word of God. Growing in her faith and singing out loud to some good praise & worship music is what she loves!
Hali runs HLF from, the warmth of her home and manages all operations of HLF including donor oversight, workshop management, volunteer coordination , event planning and publicity!
Gail Freedman
President / Executive Board Chair
Gail has served the HLF team since 2019. Professionally she works as a people leader for a fortune 100 health insurer based in Minnesota. She currently oversees a staff of Agile software Product Owners (POs) who work with business and IT to develop a new physician payment processing platform. She currently partners to develop internally facing administrative, marketing, and customer support operations to support the software launch. She has an MBA from USC, is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a Six-Sigma Process Improvement Green Belt (SSGB), a certified Agile Product Owner (PO), and a Just In Time (JIT) 4-step coach for UHC employees. She is part of a 2023 Operations Leadership Development program and is the Ms. Long Beach CA 2023 titleholder. She served in several not-for-profit board roles (President, Treasurer, Marketing) in the Long Beach community.
Gail values giving back to the community and helping children, and has instilled those values in her sons. Her eldest son is currently working as an instructor with an organization that helps develop coding skills in young students, and her youngest son works with the Long Beach CA Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Camp Tahquitz as a volunteer director, teaching young scouts nature center skills. Gail’s leadership skills, philanthropic values, and non-profit and for-profit experience supports the His Little Feet (HLF) mission to help children get the shoes they need.
Carole Christianson
VP of Fundraising
Culminating a 50-year career in the food and beverage industry, Carole retired in September of 2022 after serving as Chief Operating Officer of the WAFC, whose mission is: “Advancing the Food Industry through Education & Leadership”. Prior to the WAFC she held executive positions with Coca-Cola and established her own venture “Christianson West”.
In 2020, Carole and her late husband Paul were awarded the “Spirit of Life” Award as founders of “Kids 4 Hope”, to benefit Pediatric Cancer research at the City of Hope raising over $28M.
In 2021, she was honored by the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business as the USC Food Industry Executive of the year. She is a graduate of the WAFC Retail Management Certificate Program and the USC Food Industry Executive Program.
Carole has twin adult daughters Ashlee (Matt) Lorio and Amanda (Scott) Hayter. In addition, she is “Gigi” to her three grandchildren: Jackson Paul Lorio, Caroline Lee Hayter and Rex Charles Lorio.
A resident of Seal Beach since 1984, she currently lives with her rescue Cocker Spaniel Herman. As Carole embarks on this chapter of her life, she is committed to the grassroots spirit of HLF and helping provide more children with the shoes, socks and supplies they need to succeed!
Blanca Sofia Crocker
Treasurer
Blanca joined the HLF executive board in December 2021. Currently Blanca resides in San Clemente , CA. with her husband although was born in Colombia! He son is a student at UC Davis in Northern Ca.
Blanca has a strong passion to help underprivileged children as she served on a mission team based out of Flower Mound TX. The team regularly made trips to Mexico where they would construct 3-5 homes from the ground up for families that were financially struggling.
Blanca is bi-lingual and speaks, reads and writes in both Spanish and English which is an asset to the HLF team.
Blanca has owned her own business as well as managed real estate investments for her own family trust.
In 2005 Blanca and her husband Todd Crocker adopted a little boy from Guatemala. Their son is now 19 years old, where he is thriving and developing into a mature responsible young man.
Blanca has been searching for an opportunity to get involved in a socially responsible charity that is focused on actually impacting children in need. Meeting Hali via Blanca’s sister has provided an excellent opportunity for Blanca to focus her passion to make a difference in young people’s lives.
Blanca looks forward to digging in and helping the team where she can to make a difference and assist the executive board in their effort to impact young children with real need. Fun fact about Blanca is she likes gardening and creating beautiful arrangements from the yard!
Kristina Galias
Executive Secretary
Kristina is an elementary school teacher. She holds a dual Master's in Educational Leadership and Curriculum from the American College of Education. Her passion for helping youth began when she was in high school volunteering with underprivileged children living in the Villages at Cabrillo at the time. She learned about His Little Feet through a Long Beach volunteering project several years ago and fell in love with the mission and vision of the organization. Kristina is the former Miss Long Beach 2017 and she has been an active volunteer in the community since 2014. She was born and raised in Long Beach and the city holds a special place in her heart.
Kristina enjoys living an active lifestyle. She has participated in many 5K/10K races including the first annual HLF Stomping out Poverty race in October 2020. As the Executive Secretary, she hopes to spread the mission of His Little Feet and inspire others to get involved in giving back to those in need.
Susan Silvestri
Executive Board Member
Susan grew up in Arcadia, CA and has lived in the City of Placentia for the past 20
years. She is a proud mother of 2 young women, a business manager, and
community servant. Susan has worked as a Senior Manager for a waste and
recycling company located in the San Gabriel Valley for the past 16 years. It was in
her current role as a manager, where she found her passion for helping others
and serving communities.
Susan served as past President of His Little Feet from 2018 -2022. Her desire to
bring awareness to homeless children compelled her to participate in pageants
where she holds the title of Ms. Southern California Cities 2020 & 2021 and Ms.
Elite Coastal California 2022. She is also an Ambassador for Living Well Pregnancy
Center located in the City of Orange providing counsel and support to women in
Orange County facing unplanned pregnancies. She serves the City of Placentia as
a Planning Commissioner, is a representative for Assembly District 55 and serves
on the Executive Board as Secretary for Orange County GOP Central Committee
and serves as President for Puente Hills Republican Women Federated.
Susan is proud to have graduated from the Marian Bergeson Excellence in Public
Service Series and holds certificates from Cornell University in Business Law and
Harvard Business School in Leadership and Management.
Lelani Duckwitz
Executive Board Member
Lelani is an award-winning public speaker, marathon runner and veteran of the Unites States Army. Having grown up in an economically challenged environment, Lelani was the first in her family to attend college.
She has emerged as into a community leader with a heart for service. She regularly speaks at schools to encourage our youth to continue their education beyond high school and make education decisions about their future. She is a professional meeting and event planner and has coordinated hundreds of weddings.
A wife and mom of two young daughters and a dog, she is Mrs. Southern California Cities 2018. She sees life as an adventure, loves growing in new challenges and once spent six days on a deserted island. Her passion and work ethic lead the HLF executive board.
Marjorie Cardenas
Executive Board Member
Marjorie joined HLF Board of Directors in 2021! She lives with her husband in San Marcos. they have two adult children, Sean and Katherine who are working professionals. Marjorie received her B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Education from the University of Southern California.
Marjorie recently retired after working in education for 31 years as a dual language immersion teacher, outreach coordinator, curriculum specialist and Vice Principal at LAUSD, LBCC, LBUSD, and SAUSD.
Marjorie was inspired by Hali’s work to seek donations of gently used shoes and start a
nonprofit out of her garage. She supported Hali’s efforts by taking bins of socks and shoes to several schools in SAUSD for students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Some donations also included school supplies, books, and uniforms.
Marjorie appreciates nature and the outdoors. She has participated in several half marathon races and enjoys hiking. She hopes to expand the mission of His Little Feet through fundraising and increasing awareness in communities across Southern California.
Dan Bacchetti
Advisory Board Member
Dan Bacchetti started working with HLF in early 2018 and has been involved with special projects at HLF as their inhouse consultant. Dan is currently the President and Owner of Bacchetti Advisory Services.
He received his MBA from the University of Southern California and undergraduate degree from San Diego State. During Dan’s 38 year career at Franklin Electric he served as their National Sales Manager and Regional Manager. His job required extensive travel thru the USA, Canada and Latin America. Dan recently retired from Headwater Companies, a division of Franklin Electric, after serving on their Board of Advisors for 5 years.
Dan now enjoys spending time with his family, personal travel, civic duties and managing his consulting company. Dan is married with two sons and five grandchildren. Dan and his wife, Noel, enjoy seeing new places and have visited 22 countries and 48 states so far!
Christine Haley
Advisory Board Member
Christine has been a part of the HLF team since 2016. She has built her career in the credit union industry, where she has used her expertise in finance and management to live out the credit union motto of“people helping people,” leading both at her credit union and as an active member of several committees and collaboration organizations all working to serve others better.
Her passion for children in need was ignited by a mission trip to Kenya in 2013, and since then she has returned several times and currently serves on the board of Tumaini international, an organization dedicated to bringing hope to under-served children there.
A wife and fiercely dedicated mother of seven, she can often be found outside in her vegetable garden or just hanging out with her family.
Los Angeles County
500 Terry Francois St.
San Francisco, CA 94158
Lydia House - Long Beach, CA
Un Mungo Preschool - Long Beach, CA
Precious Lamb Preschool - Long Beach, Ca
Olive Crest - Long Beach, CA
Long Beach Rescue Mission - Long Beach, CA
Beacon for Him - Long Beach, CA
Books & Buckets - Long Beach, CA
Safe Refuge - Long Beach, CA
For more information contact us at hislitfeet@gmail.com
Orange County
Young Lives - Orange, CA
Thomas House Shelter - Garden Grove, CA
Santa Ana Unified School District
The Covenant House - Anaheim, CA
For more information contact us at hislitfeet@gmail.com
Riverside County
Michelle's Place - Temecula, CA
Project Coffee Cup - Riverside, CA
Rancho Damacitas - Temecula, CA
Oak Grove - Temecula, CA
Birth Choice Center - Riverside, CA
For more information contact us at hislitfeet@gmail.com
22,896
His Little Feet has provided over 22,000 pairs of shoes to children experiencing homelessness since in 2014.
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