Red Sneakers for Oakley™, a nonprofit 501c3, founded International Red Sneakers Day in 2018, after Oakley Debb's November 2016 fatal reaction to nuts. Oakley's parents, Merrill and Robert Debbs, launched Red Sneakers for Oakley to prevent other families from facing the same tragedy. Central to the organization's theme are Oakley's red sneakers, carrying food allergy awareness messages all over the world and in multiple languages.
The Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed International Red Sneakers Day to be observed annually in 2021.