Supporting Homeless Shelters with Sky Outfitters
Walking into Wheeler Mission’s men’s shelter in downtown Indianapolis with Keaton Hendricks, owner of Sky Outfitters, there was an immediate feeling of familiarity between he and the staff members that greeted us. As the first shelter that Keaton partnered with back when he was starting out as Sky Footwear, you can see that this relationship signifies something special for him. Sitting down with Keaton to record this podcast in the cafeteria at the men’s shelter gave us a special sense of place. At times I remember thinking about the background noise we were picking up as people were cleaning pans in the adjacent kitchen or as they were walking through unaware of what we were doing. All of that, however, lends to the character of this interview in that you can hear the work being done to serve the men in downtown Indianapolis who would otherwise have nowhere to turn in the especially cold winter months. The day we visited a light drizzle was falling and the temperatures were near freezing. The staff we spoke with reported that they had been running over capacity and were partnering with nearby churches to help with additional space.
This all aids in giving weight to Sky Outfitter’s mission of partnering with homeless shelters in order to provide them with some of the most requested items that homeless individuals need. Starting out as Sky Footwear, they began out of a dorm room at Taylor University selling socks on a buy-one-give-one model. Within the last year they’ve rebranded to Sky Outfitters to open up further opportunities to sell more diverse items like beanies and scarves. Listening to Keaton, though, it’s clear this is just the beginning as they continue to dream about what they can do to continue supporting homeless shelters across the midwest and beyond.
“Our vision has always been to provide a tangible way that everyone can make a positive impact in the life of a homeless man or woman through our buy-one-give-one model. Now that our product line has expanded beyond socks, we think this impact has the potential to be even greater. We believe that a gift as simple as a pair of socks, a hat, or a scarf, will continue to spark encouragement and hope into the lives of the homeless across the nation.”
- Keaton Hendricks
It was great getting a chance to sit down with Keaton and hear about how he got Sky off the ground, some of the challenges they had to overcome, and the vision that he has for where they can grow from here. Take a listen to the episode, and if you feel so led, head over to Sky Outfitters - skyoutfitters.com - and support them and their partner shelter of the month by buying some socks or a beanie.
