GREENFIELD – More than 1,200 pairs of shoes were distributed at the Back to School Giveaway hosted by Changing Footprints July 19-20 in the Greenfield Christian Church parking lot.
It was a big jump from the estimated 700 pairs given away last summer, thanks to community partners that host shoe collection drives throughout the year.
“We’ve been getting ready for this for the last three months … coming in and cleaning shoes and getting them ready to go,” said Stephen Jeffries, who runs the local Changing Footprints chapter alongside his good friend, Deb Cherry.
The Greenfield residents said the shoe giveaway is a great way to support families as they face so many other expenses sending kids back to school.
“If we can take that off their table and they still have money to spend on other things like their electric bill or food, then we’ve done our job,” said Jeffries, who said the giveaway also blesses foster families who may not have much time to prepare for the coming school year.
While some shoes Changing Footprints gives away are new – passed on by retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Shoe Sensation – others are refurbished to near-new condition, said Cherry.
She and Jeffries and other volunteers devote time at least twice a week cleaning up the latest donations.
He and fellow volunteers were moved to see children of all ages excited to claim their new pairs of shoes last weekend.
Hundreds of shoes ranging from sneakers to dress shoes were laid out on tables, sorted by size, as families filed through finding the right match.
Jeffries’ son – who is a towering 6 foot, 8 inches tall – dressed up as Sneaker the Bear to interact with kids.
Cherry said the great weather coupled with a solid team of volunteers made the two-day giveaway a smashing success.
Changing Footprints is an all volunteer-run organization with chapters in Greenfield, Rushville, Fort Wayne and the north and south sides of Indianapolis.
The nonprofit collects, sorts, refurbishes and distributes an estimated 130,000 pairs of used shoes each year to those in need.
The local chapter often gets a helping hand from the community.
Realife Church in Greenfield dropped off a “windfall” of shoes for the nonprofit last month, said Jeffries, and other churches and businesses host their own shoe drives throughout the year.
The local solid waste district – Recycle Hancock County – hosts an annual shoe drive among all Hancock County schools each winter, challenging schools to raise the most pairs.
The collection netted 7,000 pairs of shoes last year, not only providing shoes to those in need but keeping discarded shoes out of landfills.
Jeffries said Changing Footprints could not carry out its mission without the support of the local community, which donates socks and shoes year round.
The nonprofit is in constant need of more shoes and volunteers, said Jeffries, who hopes to plan a giveaway of snow boots this fall.
To donate shoes, visit the collection bin at the nonprofit’s local headquarters at 1001 W. Main St. in Greenfield.
For more information, visit changingfootprints.org.
