Each month, we’re proud to shine a light on one of our Chamber members—celebrating their unique story, contributions, and the passion they bring to our local community. This month, we’re excited to introduce you to Red Sneakers for Oakley, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of food allergies and promoting education around life-threatening anaphylaxis.
What Motivated you to start your business?
Red Sneakers for Oakley (RSFO) was established by Robert and Merrill Debbs after the death of their 11-year-old son, Oakley, due to a fatal allergic reaction to nuts. With food allergies on the rise and a lack of support across the country, food allergy families Kevin and Lindsey Spangler, along with Chris and Megan Horan, came together to start Allergy Awareness for Children Everywhere Peoria, a FARE-recognized support group.
Why did you choose Peoria Heights as your home?
The Heights clearly values safety, inclusion, and family, and the speed at which they have helped us transform the community to be allergy-friendly has been incredible. Many of Red Sneakers Peoria’s initiatives are among the first in the country, and we’re proud to witness Peoria Heights leading by example as a national leader in food allergy awareness. Beyond that, it’s a wonderful, diverse community that is incredibly welcoming and supportive of new businesses. It’s also a beautiful place to live and play, with plenty of opportunities for families.
We chose Peoria Heights for our annual fundraising and outreach event because Tower Park and the businesses on Prospect are amazing spaces that allow us to draw supporters from across the nation. We want other food allergy families to feel safe visiting and staying here to enjoy all the wonderful amenities we are so blessed with.
What’s an interesting fact about your business that most people don’t know?
Shortly after discovering that their child had food allergies, Co-Founders Lindsey Spangler and Chris Horan were each working on creating a much needed food allergy support group through Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE).
FARE noticed that both individuals were from Peoria, IL and attempting to start a support group within days of each other. FARE reached out and connected them through email. Once they met they realized that there was so much more programming that was needed to support food allergy families in their community and they started working on forming their nonprofit. Now Peoria Heights is on the map among the first allergy friendly cities in the country!
If your business is interested in partnering with Red Sneakers, don't hesitate to reach out at peoria@redsneakers.org.
We’re sharing updates about what’s going on in the Chamber and Village, member spotlights, business specials, volunteer opportunities, and more!
We’re sharing updates about what’s going on in the Chamber and Village, member spotlights, business specials, volunteer opportunities, and more!
build your network
boost your community presence
gain leadership skills
access member only resources
