EASTON, Pa. — David Robertson is on a quest to collect 25,000 pairs of shoes by the end of September to help fund the work of his youth-focused nonprofit organization, JOSHWAY.
Rather than recruit kids to JOSHWAY, Robertson supports other Lehigh Valley nonprofit organizations already doing youth work.
JOSHWAY’s youth leadership program — the JOSHWAY Bridge — focuses on connecting organizations, such as local Boys & Girls Clubs, to curriculums and subject matter experts for programs on JOSHWAY’s five pillars: financial literacy, public speaking, wellness, career readiness and digital knowledge.
“When we started JOSHWAY, we purposely said we don’t want to be another nonprofit with kids,” said Robertson, 41, who founded JOSHWAY in 2023.
“What we saw [were] opportunities and gaps in capacity [and] help that was needed. So we strategically collaborate with the organizations that have the youth.”
In order to support that work, JOSHWAY is hoping to meet its shoe drive goal, which will result in the organization receiving a $10,000 donation to put toward personnel and general operating costs.
That’s through a collaboration with Funds2Orgs, which donates to organizations in exchange for gently worn shoes it can distribute to “micro-entrepreneurs” in developing nations around the world.
JOSHWAY currently has 16 public donation sites where Lehigh Valley residents can drop off shoes. Robertson said he’s also still looking for more local businesses willing to be collection sites.
Additionally, JOSHWAY will be collecting donations at the Girls Night Out event July 25 at the Promenade Saucon Valley.
JOSHWAY History
Robertson, of Hellertown, founded JOSHWAY in honor of his younger brother Joshua, who died in 2021 at age 32 when he took a Xanax laced with fentanyl.
“When you lose a loved one like that it just forces you into impact,” Robertson said.
“When you lose a loved one like that it just forces you into impact."David Robertson, JOSHWAY founder
JOSHWAY’s five pillars are leadership topics that Robertson thinks would have benefitted his younger brother.
“He grew up with a lot of pressure that the youth still face today,” Robertson said.
Each pillar – financial literacy, public speaking, wellness, career readiness and digital knowledge – involves students using technology in the programming, whether that’s a device or an app.
For instance, the financial literacy program has teens use a smartphone app to create a budget plan.
Of the five pillars, digital knowledge is the only topic JOSHWAY’s staff facilitates themselves. For the other pillars, JOSHWAY brings in subject matter experts to work with the youth.
Robertson encourages organizations to do programming for all five pillars.
“We want this to be scalable and repeatable to get as many kids across the JOSHWAY bridge with these skill sets, so they can go on to be doctors and lawyers because they have these five skill sets instilled in them.”
JOSHWAY already has partnered with about 10 Lehigh Valley organizations, including Miller Symphony Hall, Valley Youth House and Community Bike Works.
JOSHWAY also offers workshops for youth on topics, such as coding, on site at the organization's 913 Northampton St. office in Easton.
Partners praise collaboration
Robertson’s organization is working with the Boys & Girls Club of Bethlehem to coordinate future public speaking programming. JOSHWAY also introduced the club to an app students can use to record their volunteer experiences.
“It’s just a way for them to track and better tell their story as they enter a more competitive environment when it comes to higher education or a job interview,” said Miguel Rivera, director of development and communications and the Bethlehem Boys & Girls Club.
Rivera said JOSHWAY’s work is important because it focuses on teens — an age group that sometimes “get lost in the shuffle.”
Last spring, JOSHWAY also worked with The Century Promise program, which focuses on college and career readiness opportunities for Allentown high schoolers.
JOSHWAY coordinated a Toastmasters public speaking program for Century Promise students, who gave short speeches in front of their peers.
“They got a lot of experience with not only public speaking, but as part of it, [they] had to give feedback to [their] peers,” said The Century Promise CEO Yusuf Dahl, who is on JOSHWAY’s advisory board.
“In that respect, it was cool because they not only receive feedback, which we all have to do, but sometimes we have to give it,” he said. “And that’s not a skill you’re necessarily taught, so I was glad to see that was part of the program.”
Dahl said JOSHWAY’s collaborative approach is essential given the “funding realities” in the nonprofit space.
JOSHWAY, he said, smartly uses resources and works with organizations that have aligned missions – serving youth.
“They’re doing great work and really have a student-centered approach to all of the work they do,” Dahl said.
