OSU alumna leads nonprofit benefiting children across the state

OSU alumna leads nonprofit benefiting children across the state

Friday, September 13, 2024

Media Contact: Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | [email protected]

It just takes helping one kid to make a difference.

Those are words Oklahoma State University alumna Stacy McDaniel and her team at Cleats for Kids (C4K) have lived by since the organization's beginning as a pile of shoes in the McDaniel family's garage.

"Every time I've ever done anything in my life, I've always thought, 'If it can make the difference in the life of one child, it's worth it,'" McDaniel said. "And for us to think we could make a difference in the lives of over 50,000 children every year is mind-boggling to me."

McDaniel grew up in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and graduated from Edmond High School in 1983. Her father was raised by a single mother and had his life changed by access to sports.

"My mom's dad was a basketball and tennis coach back at Central State College (now the University of Central Oklahoma), so she grew up in the sports world and knew the value of sports," McDaniel said. "My sport growing up was riding and jumping horses."

As an Oklahoma native with a family who loved the Cowboys, she said the only school she considered attending was OSU. In the fall of 1983, McDaniel arrived in Stillwater to major in finance.

"From the beginning, my time at OSU was spent learning communication, respect, and valuing others' opinions and contributions," McDaniel said. "In addition, the importance of building relationships and relating to others. OSU laid the foundation for everything I've done post-undergrad, and I credit the leadership and the administration that gave me guidance."

While on campus, McDaniel was involved in the President's Leadership Council and School of Business Student Council. She was also a member and officer of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

"Participating in philanthropy at OSU fostered an understanding of its value," McDaniel said. "Seeing firsthand what impact involvement from students could make, not only on the recipients but also on the students taking the opportunity to give back to their community, gave me an appreciation and value on the giving back side of what our mission is now."

Following her OSU graduation in 1987, McDaniel attended law school at the University of Oklahoma. During that time, she met her husband and future co-founder of C4K, Mark McDaniel. The two were married several years later while Stacy worked in law. Later, she chose to stay home with her three children: Cole, Josh and Meghan.

"When I quote 'retired,' I just wanted to be with our kids," she said. "I tried to work part time after Meghan was born, but honestly, I either needed to hire someone to be me at home, or I could be me, and I decided to be a mom. I did that for about three years, and then C4K came into our lives."

C4K was founded in 2011 following a series of events McDaniel now recognizes as a full-circle philanthropy journey. McDaniel's children were playing basketball at the Pilot Center, a community center formerly located in Oklahoma City for underserved youth.

"The woman who ran the Pilot Center, Lenora Ware, who played basketball at OSU, had the biggest heart," McDaniel said. "She told my husband and I a story of a local mother of five. Her kids needed shoes to play in the leagues at the center, but purchasing cleats for all five of her kids would make her unable to buy groceries or pay her utilities."

That was the moment C4K began. The couple started with just a few pairs of cleats in their garage. Within a few months, fueled by donations from parents and children in the neighborhood, C4K outgrew their garage and moved locations.

"A local high school soccer coach reached out for help with 14 varsity soccer players," McDaniel said. "The majority were playing in tennis shoes. One girl had the heel entirely broken off her shoe. We provided cleats to the whole team and socks in their school colors. The following season, the coach had 40 girls try out for soccer instead of 14. That was a light switch moment for us."

Since then, McDaniel has grown her team to seven employees, five of whom are OSU alumni, all dedicated and passionate about the work and mission of C4K.

"In 2017, we helped launch a program with three Oklahoma City high schools and middle schools to get cross-country and track athletes the shoes they needed," C4K Deputy Director Allyson Meyer said. "Kids weren't participating even though they wanted to because they didn't have shoes. These kids are opening doors they may not have been able to in prior generations, and they're going to be involved citizens of our community thanks to a sport they may or may not have had access to before a program like this."

In 2023, C4K served over 464 schools in 65 Oklahoma counties. Mick Wilson, athletic director for Tulsa Public Schools, said C4K has worked with their athletic program for the past four years.

"We have kids in all situations," Wilson said. "Whether it's food insecurity or a student who may not have the resources to be competitive in athletics or their schoolwork. It's our job as educators and adults to try to give kids opportunities beyond what they get at home. We want to remove barriers so all students get an opportunity to be as successful as any other child."

Millwood Public Schools was one of the first schools C4K started partnering within the Oklahoma City area. Shannon Hayes, the district's director of operations, athletics and technology, said his relationship with McDaniel and C4K started in 2014.

"We had kids running track in basketball shoes," Hayes said. "When the kids stopped having shin splints, the shoes were the best thing they could have received."

Hayes said students at Millwood have received everything from shoes and cheerleading uniforms to softball and soccer equipment from C4K. By providing equipment to his school, Hayes said high school students participating in sports has increased from under 35% to over 50% last year.

Year by year, C4K has increased the total number of kids served as well as the number of sports equipment distributed significantly. In 2023, Stacy and the C4K team served 52,263 kids with 53,008 pieces of sports equipment, which is a 24% increase in kids served and a 67% increase in sports equipment distributed in 2022. Within the past five years, C4K has had a 97% growth in the number of items distributed and a 148% growth in the number of kids served.

In addition to facilitating the distribution of sports equipment, they also prioritize giving kids the opportunity to contribute to their communities. Most of the equipment kept in the C4K locker room is recycled. It is collected through collection drives, varsity and junior varsity boards, local businesses, and 30 permanent bin locations in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.

"I feel like I hit the lottery in terms of a boss, mentor and role model with Stacy," Meyer said. "She started this nonprofit as a dream. I don't think she knew how much it could grow and the impact it could make. When people ask us for help, our usual answer is yes, let's see how we can make it happen. That is how she lives her life and the energy in our office comes from her leadership and is shown in the impact Cleats for Kids has made across our state."

Photos by: Ellie Piper and Provided

Story by: Jillian Remington | STATE Magazine