Student-alumni nonprofit, In a Soldier’s Shoes, is impacting veterans locally, expanding nationally
Kayin McDonald is a modern Renaissance man. The ambitious Ashland University senior will graduate this May with seven majors (yes, seven: economics, history, international relations, philosophy, political economy, political science and religion). He is an Ashbrook Scholar, a Peace Scholar with the Ashland Center for Nonviolence and an Emerson/McKnight Scholar. He is a drummer for the AU Jazz Orchestra, and previously was a writing coach for the Writing & Communication Center, a member of the Eagles’ soccer team and a representative in Student Senate.
“Kayin has wrung just about every drop out of what Ashland University has to offer,” confirmed AU Provost Gregory McBrayer, Ph.D., who had the opportunity to teach him in multiple classes as a faculty member in the Ashbrook Scholar Program.
McDonald, described as a “self-assured young man who is confident in his thinking and bold in his convictions” by McBrayer, has made his biggest impact at AU via his co-founding of and subsequent dedicated work with In a Soldier’s Shoes Foundation. The nonprofit, which through ruck walks and other initiatives, raises funds and provides shoes, socks and other essential items to homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.
McDonald currently serves as vice president of the foundation’s board of directors, as well as chief development officer and director of community engagement, all while excelling academically and in his extracurriculars. He’s even training for an Ironman competition in his spare time.
“Among our board members, Kayin has earned the nickname ‘Captain America.’ He consistently goes above and beyond during our fundraising season and at every chapter event,” remarked Brien Conrad ’14, the board president of In a Soldier’s Shoes. “On event weekends, Kayin often logs more than 24 (rucked) miles. To date, Kayin’s efforts have helped raise more than $100,000 for our mission, with no signs of slowing down.”
McDonald’s passion for veteran advocacy is unique in that he nor his immediate family have any type of military background. He does have boundless energy and a heart for service, though.
“It’s exactly because I haven’t served that I feel that it’s so important that I serve now,” explained McDonald. “Given my education at Ashland and just really reflecting on the freedoms and the liberty that we have in this country … I feel it is very important to give back to that community that has sacrificed so much to allow that freedom to exist. So, I didn’t feel it was my calling to serve, but I feel that I can serve in this way to give back to that community in a similar fashion.”
Origin
In a Soldier’s Shoes was birthed out of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at AU. The fraternity’s national philanthropic component has long been “Military Heroes Campaign,” and in 2014, the first Mile in a Soldier’s Shoes took place in Ashland. The annual charity ruck march consists of the brothers of Kappa Sigma, as well as any AU faculty, staff, students or community participants, walking or running with a 35-pound weighted ruck sack—half of what many service members bear—for a three-hour period to simulate soldiers in the line of duty.
“It certainly puts things in perspective for the sacrifices that our veterans have given to us over the years, and it certainly helps make the philanthropy feel real,” said McDonald of the ruck walk.
While Mile in a Soldier’s Shoes developed into a signature event—this year’s ruck march will take place on Saturday, April 11, at 10 a.m.—McDonald noticed that for various reasons most of the money that was being raised was not actually coming back into the Ashland community.
“As a local chapter, we wanted to raise money for our local heroes,” said McDonald.
Pondering what could be done to more directly impact local veterans, McDonald and his Kappa Sigma brothers Conrad and Zack Weilnau reached out to veteran organizations, like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Vets (AMVETS) and American Legion posts, and took note of the high demand for shoes among the needy population in that community.
“Genuinely, it was a big need that we saw. Zack already had connections to (shoe) manufacturers, so we at the nonprofit were able to get shoes and socks and those other items at cost … and so we knew we could make a big impact,” explained McDonald.
Thus, the In a Soldier’s Shoes Foundation was born in 2024. It continues to partner with the Miles in a Soldier’s Shoes ruck marches, but also now has the ability to broaden its reach through additional fundraising and initiatives.
In the first year, a modest 675 items were donated and $26,000 was raised. Through the efforts of McDonald and company, those numbers project to escalate to 5,000 essential item distributions by this May and $500,000 in fundraising by the end of the year.
Expansion
Not satisfied to simply enhance the quality of life for many local vets, McDonald has played a critical role in expanding the In a Soldier’s Shoes Foundation reach. This spring, there are 15 Mile in a Soldier’s Shoes events taking place at universities across four states – Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
McDonald was booked most every weekend in March and will be in April too, traveling to the various universities and helping to coordinate their own ruck marches. He connects with Kappa Sigma peers and performs trainings for them, offering best practices to run the event, information on the foundation and more.
“We’re there to be a guiding force along the way to make sure it’s maximally successful,” McDonald said.
McDonald’s regional tour is serving two purposes. In addition to assisting with the events themselves, his passion for veterans has helped open the eyes and hearts of hundreds of young students who have gained an appreciation for our current service members and veterans.
“I’ve found in my time, especially traveling to different universities, talking to different Greek life communities, so often Greek life (doesn’t) actually talk to the groups that they’re raising money for,” observed McDonald. “So, these ruck marches perfectly encapsulate the solution to that problem, which is getting younger generations walking alongside and talking with and helping veterans.”
Future
Building on the momentum from this year’s regional expansion, In a Soldier’s Shoes has even loftier goals and more projects on the horizon.
“The plan is national expansion. That’s the true plan and we have a clear path to it with the Kappa Sigma relationship,” said McDonald, who noted there are 400 fraternity chapters in North America. “We plan to continue that through these events on college campuses. The hope is next year, we’re at 40.”
He continued, “We hope to expand as big as we possibly can, to make an impact as large as we can, while maintaining our roots of keeping dollars donated as local as we possibly can.”
“Kayin is already helping expand our fundraising efforts nationally into states such as Massachusetts and Louisiana, and we look forward to continuing to work with Kappa Sigma chapters to support veterans on a broader scale,” confirmed Conrad.
Conrad and McDonald are excited about the foundation’s latest initiative, called Operation: Final Tour. Focusing on terminally ill veterans, disabled veterans and veterans above the age of 80, it will provide select individuals with a meaningful, once-in-a-lifetime experience they may not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy, such as returning to Vietnam or visiting a national historic site or famous sports venue for the first time.
“The shoes and the socks, they help a lot of veterans in a small way. It’s a very important way, but it’s in a smaller way. So, we hope, in this sense, to be able to help a few select veterans in a very big way, which goes along with our mission of helping veterans every step of the way,” said McDonald.
With McDonald set to graduate in a few weeks, his individual career path may be up in the air, but he plans on staying highly involved with In a Soldier’s Shoes whether as a board member or in a full-time capacity.
“(Kayin) has demonstrated a deep commitment to making a lasting impact on the veteran community, and we are grateful to have him on our team. We look forward to the success of the coming year and know that Kayin will play a pivotal role in it,” said Conrad.
