For a second straight year, every member of the Bears organization was invited to participate in the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats initiative, which for nine seasons has allowed players to design and wear custom cleats to support a charitable organization of their choice.

The Bears once again partnered with Sneakerhead University — a Chicago-based immersive exhibit and workshop that focuses on the art, culture and history of sneakers — to give staff the opportunity to support a cause and paint their own pair of Nike Air Force 1's to wear for the team's next home game Dec. 22 against the Lions.

With 178 staff participants, more than 100 causes and organizations will be supported and represented.

But for six Bears employees, there was one common cause: honoring Katie Nagle.

A beloved longtime executive assistant for the Bears since 2002, Nagle passed away Sept. 2, leaving a void at Halas Hall once filled by her tremendous kindness and contagious smile.

To help honor Nagle, staffers Autumn Swindell, Emily Rooney, Jessica Noonan, Kate Rackow, Melissa McDermott and chairman George H. McCaskey all dedicated their sneakers to her.

"All of us honoring Katie says a lot because there are so many great causes out there that you can support, and everyone has a personal reason," said McDermott, a business strategist who has worked for the Bears since 2007. "I'm sure everyone could probably come up with five, 10 organizations that they would love to support, but I think it shows the value and just the tightness of the Bears family that we want to honor one of our own. That's special for all of us to say, 'we're all coming together and supporting Katie.'"

Swindell, Rooney, Noonan, Rackow and McDermott all selected Bears Care, the organization's charitable arm, as their non-profit to support. Nagle had previously battled breast cancer, a disease that Bears Care targets through medical and health awareness programs.

"I did Bears Care last year for different reasons," Swindell, an executive assistant, said. "I've had people going through breast cancer in my life and obviously Katie went through that, too. Her family requested donations in Katie's name and her honor to Bears Care when she passed. So right away I thought that it makes sense to do something for Katie while honoring her family's wishes."

The employees represented Nagle on their shoes by writing her name and incorporating either the traditional Bears blue and orange or Bears Care's blue and pink color scheme from the annual Real Bears Fans Wear Pink campaign.

For Noonan and Rackow, who are among those at the Bears who have known Katie longest, the My Cause My Cleats initiative allows them to pay tribute to their friend and serves as a reminder of what she means to the club.

"It felt like a simple way to keep her name and her memory alive," Noonan, a community outreach & alumni relations specialist who has been with the Bears since 2000, said. "It's something that when people are talking and ask, 'what's your cause?' it's a way to remember her. A lot of people always say, 'I'm going to try and be a nicer person or be a better person,' and Katie just was without even trying. She was just a great, kind, special person."

"We still walk by her desk every day," Rackow, the team's manager of community outreach & alumni relations who joined the club the same year as Nagle, added, "and there are so many times every week that something random comes up and I think, 'oh, you know who would know that? Katie Nagle.' So, it's still processing her loss and after the funeral, sometimes it's easy to not keep that person front of mind, so this was a nice way to keep remembering her."

Even for staff members who only knew Nagle a short time, her loss and impact was felt just as much.

"This is only my second season here, so the love I experienced from Katie was very fresh and new to me," Rooney, a community engagement strategist, said. "A lot of people had experienced that for many years, and I felt like coming in as a new employee, it made me feel just as special as everyone else. Since Katie has passed, it feels like everyone here has really embodied the spirit Katie left. I just wanted to thank her and honor her for all the ways she thanked and honored the people around her."

McCaskey chose a different organization to represent this season — Uniting Voices Chicago —which serves as a reminder of Nagle's love for music, especially Jimmy Buffett. Uniting Voices Chicago is an internationally renowned network of in-school and after-school programs that serve thousands of students across the city every year.

"Katie" is bolded on both of McCaskey's shoes, but Bears "resident artist" and partnership activation coordinator Danica Lopez — who painted the sneakers — added another special touch. On the outside of the left shoe, Lopez painted a soundwave design that links to a playlist titled "Our Dear Katie," featuring songs, lyrics and voices that serve as reminders of Nagle.

The organization-wide honoring of Nagle, which has not slowed down since September, illustrates just how special she was. Heart-shaped pins — designed by director of brand creative John Conroy — that read "Katie" in the center have been distributed to all Bears employees, serving as a daily reminder of her big heart.

"This is yet another reminder of Katie's profound impact on everybody here," McCaskey said, "and her voice is still being heard."

To learn more, read senior writer Larry Mayer's tribute to our beloved Katie Nagle. Donations can also be made to Bears Care and Uniting Voices Chicago in Katie's name.