Melodie Narain and Teresa Thomas are a mother and daughter duo who have partnered together to address the concerns of foot discomfort. Melodie’s inability to no longer wear heels, and Teresa’s several knee surgeries, sparked an idea to launch a company that addressed the needs of avid high heel consumers, thus creating Sole Savers.

Sole Savers, based out of Washington, D.C., provides a stylish rollable flat that acts as a comfortable back up to high heel shoes. The flat comes in 9 different colors and is compact, allowing the shoe to provide its customers with a level of convenience. Vice President, Teresa, believes the shoe would be especially perfect for college students.

“You can wear the shoes as you run across campus and use the sole savers bag to transport your books,” she says. “If a college student has a job and/or internship, you can slip the flats on during the work day.”

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For the company, the shoe not only provides simple comfort, but also caters to reducing health risks. Sole Savers CEO, Melodie, explains, “A lot of people don’t realize that heels can damage our feet. The longer you spend wearing a pair of painful heels, you will begin to deform your feet and start to do nerve damage. Having an alternate pair of shoes is a smart move for any woman.”

Sole Savers believes that the more women begin to protect their feet, the less their chances are of having negative foot, ankle and knee complications later in life.

In addition to comfort and protection, the company also works to partner with the community by providing financial contributions to various charities.

“What differentiates Sole Savers from other companies is that we are a philanthropic focused company. We try to pair with different charities, who aren’t as well known to provide assistance,” says Melodie. “For example, we paired with Remember Betty, a smaller charity that helps people with the financial aftermath of breast cancer.”

The company truly believes in their mantra “Every Sole has a Soul”, as they have used this way of thinking as motivation to continue to spread their monetary support.

Both Melodie and Teresa recognize a need for an increase in entrepreneurship and more advocacy of African-American businesses. “We encourage other people to follow their dreams and to start their own businesses. We want people to support one another as well as support small and minority owned businesses.”

As small business owners, both Melodie and Teresa understand the difficulties of jumpstarting a successfully business. However, this hasn’t stopped their goals of expanding their company.

Currently, the duo is developing another comfort shoe to add to their current line. The company is also seeking opportunities to include their flats inside major department stores across the nation.

To meet and support the Sole Savers team, the company will be participating as a Black Alumni Networking Expo vendor on August 13, 2016 from 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. The Black Alumni Networking Expo is a ticketed event and will take place in Arlington, Virginia.

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To learn more about Sole Savers and/or purchase a pair of stylish flats, please visit www.solesavors.co