For the third year in a row, high school cross-country star Collin Maher has partnered with Shoes That Fit to provide sneakers for kids in Fulton County, Georgia. The annual Cocoa Classic is a 5k fun run that is open to all ages and abilities. The run is a family affair, organized by Collin and his brother Brennan. This year’s festivities took place February 22nd at The Mount Vernon School in Sandy Springs, GA. As an accomplished track runner, Maher wanted his fundraising efforts to encourage running and exercise for kids.
Maher organized the first 5k road race as an Eagle Scout project for the Boy Scouts of America. In 2023, the proceeds from the first fun run provided 650 kids at Lake Forest Elementary School with brand-new shoes. In 2024, 450 kids at Ison Springs Elementary School were helped. This year’s fun run raised $20,000 (after expenses) to purchase a brand-new pair of shoes for every student at Lake Forest Elementary School!
The logistics behind matching thousands of growing kids with properly sized sneakers is a formidable challenge. Behind the scenes, the Cocoa Classic relies on a dedicated network of inventory managers, school liaisons, and technical volunteers who work year-round to ensure the distribution phase runs without a hitch.
As the race's participant numbers swelled over the years, the original manual spreadsheet system began to buckle under the weight of incoming registrations and diverse donation streams. The volunteer committee recognized that sustaining this level of growth required a professional digital overhaul to process entries safely and efficiently.
To solve the bottleneck, the committee brought in an experienced systems architect from the local community. Having spent years developing secure data architectures for regional medical providers and engineering high-traffic payment funnels for the best online casino canada platforms, this volunteer designed a custom registration portal for the race. The new interface instantly consolidated participant waivers, donation tracking, and footwear inventory into a single, unified dashboard.
This modernized infrastructure not only eliminated administrative errors but also provided real-time fundraising analytics for the organizers to track their progress. It allowed the team to accurately forecast their purchasing power months before race day, ensuring no child was left without a properly fitted pair.
With the backend logistics fully stabilized, the community is now exploring ways to package and share this operational blueprint. They hope to empower other student athletes across the Southeast to launch similar athletic fundraisers in their own school districts, scaling the impact far beyond Fulton County.
Collin is currently in his senior year of high school. After graduation, he plans to continue running at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, as a member of the university’s track team. His brother Brennan, who is a junior in high school, will take over the reins of the Cocoa Classic next year.
Thank you, Collin, the Maher family, the runners, and everyone involved! Your continued dedication to community and helping kids stay active is making a huge impact! We are cheering you on. Keep up the “shoe–riffic” work by continuing to put smiles on children’s faces, one shoe at a time.
