August 21, 2025

By Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science staff

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When Sam Sayed, M.D. relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, for residency, he brought his nonprofit with him through the support of a Mayo Clinic Community Contributions grant.

When Sam Sayed, M.D., was in elementary school, his older sister, Dayna, took him and his brother to the shoe store where she worked. She offered to buy any sneakers they wanted. For two boys growing up in poverty, this was a pivotal moment.

"We were discount-store or hand-me-down kids — we had never gotten to do anything like that," says Dr. Sayed, an emergency medicine resident at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "We can still recall the shoes and how they made us feel. We want other kids to feel that too." 

Nearly 30 years later, Dr. Sayed helped give 56 Rochester Boys & Girls Club members that same gift. He applied for a Mayo Clinic Community Contributions grant through his nonprofit, Dayna's Footprints, funding an Aug. 13 event that let the kids pick their dream kicks at a local shoe store.

"They were joyous — one kid said, 'This is the best day of my life,'" says Dr. Sayed. "One boy picked a pair based on his favorite soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo. As soon as he picked them up, he did the classic Ronaldo celebration — run to the corner and do a 360 — over and over."

Their excitement reflected the day's deeper meaning — both for the kids and the many Mayo volunteers who made the event possible.