Youth Against Poverty Pop-Up Grand Opening

Shoe sales are fun. Shoe sales that build a medical clinic in Haiti are even better.

On June 9th, Los Altos will host a charity pop-up featuring Youth Against Poverty (YAP) at 170 State Street. St. Francis student Shawn Esmaili founded YAP as an organization dedicated to connecting teenagers like Esmaili with children in need around the world. The organization has now reached out to the residents of Los Altos to help the children and orphans of Haiti and will be selling shoes for a heavily discounted $10-$50, from brands such as adidas, Converse, Puma, Nike, Supra, New Balance, Asics, Saucony, Vans, and Creative Recreation in the temporary store. What is different about YAP? All of the proceeds from the sale will go towards building a medical clinic in Haiti, a country which is ridden with cholera, malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS and in critical need of clean, modern medical facilities.

Esmaili started YAP in 2007 when he was twelve years old. In YAP’s first project, Esmaili reached out to companies such as Vans, Puma, Converse, and adidas for donations and successfully garnered 700 pairs of shoes that YAP provided to an orphanage for 600 blind children in Tanzania. More recently, YAP has changed its focus in order to provide even more for children. The organization sells shoes at its pop-up events at a discounted price and directs the proceeds towards efforts such as supporting the Bay Area’s own homeless children in collaboration with the nonprofit Compass Family Services.

Early this year, YAP also began raising money in Scottsdale, Arizona, to help build a children’s medical clinic in Haiti and raised $23,000 of its $70,000 goal. Lucky for us, YAP has selected the Los Altos community as its next pop-up site to continue the fundraiser.