2022 Nike Doernbecher Freestyle Collection

May 7, 2022

2022 Nike Doernbecher Freestyle Collection

Nike and the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital have partnered together for over 20 years. They fundraised over $30 million dollars for the hospital by auctioning off sneakers designed by former patients. The tradition continues after being postponed last year due to COVID-19 and on February 25th, Nike and the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital unveiled the seven sneakers that were designed by former patients.

The 2022 Nike Doernbecher Freestyle Collection is set drop our site on April 30th. Check out the links to each sneaker below. The Jordan Air Jordan 5 Low “Doernbecher” is a highlight of the freestyle collection. Michael Wilson put his personal touch on Tinker Hatfield’s designed iconic Air Jordan 5 designed for Michael Jordan in 1990.

The Doernbecher Freestyle program began as an idea from Connor Doherty, the son of Nike Creative Director and OHSU Doernbecher Foundation board member Michael Doherty. His vision was to give a platform for the hospital’s young patients to foster their imaginations by designing their very own Nike sneakers. It became official in 2003 as the OHSU Doernbecher Freestyle program. His idea has raised $30 million for the hospital, brightened the lives of countless kids and solidified its place within sneaker culture.

Even though the silhouettes vary, the collection always features six shoes, and each year the launch is as highly anticipated as that of many other limited-edition Nike shoes. For example, since first including Jordan in 2007, the Doernbecher program has reworked Jordan shoes 1 through 10 and the 13.

More importantly, the Doernbecher Freestyle program has placed “Doernbecher” into the vocabulary of sneakerheads across the globe. It's a highlight to many sneakerheads yearly, similar to an NBA playoffs , March Madness, and the Super Bowl. Most sneakerheads that get their hands on the sneakers will not be able to visit the hospital,, but they can hold one patient-designer's story in their hands and read it whenever they wish.

“For sneakerheads, there’s always going to be the initial buzz about what specific silhouettes are getting special colorways that year, but it’s the cause and awareness that counts,” says Joe La Puma, Complex’s VP of Content and host of its Sneaker Shopping. “It usually has an instant-classic special make-up every year, and the fact that kids from the hospital design these rare sneakers adds actual substance to the hype.”