I had been told that the First Day Shoe Fund’s shoe distribution event, held once per year at a local elementary school, was quite the thing to see…controlled chaos. Imagine trying to give more than a thousand growing children a new pair of shoes within the span of three school days. But, Valerie Denghel, director and her volunteer coordinator Ann Gunia, make it work…with lots and lots of volunteer help. I was unsure of what to expect, but the concept of FDSF is simple: provide new shoes to low-income K-2 students attending Kalamazoo Public Schools. A small contribution, that can have a very positive impact on students that go without, far too often.
Shoe fitters, shoe inventory volunteers, greeters, baggers, photographers, board members. It is an event that requires a lot of hands to keep it running smoothly. I volunteered just one day of the distribution, and brought my friend, Samantha along with me. (She’s a teenager on summer vacation…what else is she going to do?)
We took on a couple of different roles at the distribution. She took note of the shoe sizes each child left with (to track inventory), helped them put their new shoes in a labeled bag (can you imagine 25 pairs of kids shoes in unlabeled bags all strewn haphazardly around a summer school classroom? End of day madness! Apparently, this happened one year…) and sent them to wait with their classmates until everyone was done.
I helped with the actual shoe fitting process. I don’t have kids, nor am I often around small children enough to know anything about their clothing/shoe sizes. I felt a tad lost and worried. But, luckily, FDSF partners with a few local shoe stores to help ensure proper fitting. A store manager and employees from a local Payless Shoe store brought along their handy foot measurers (technical term?), and showed me how it was done.
After I measured each child’s foot, I brought them over to the table with the box full of their size and helped them pick out a new pair. Someone smarter than me would probably not allow each child to hunt through the whole box…but I’m such a big softie. For the most part, I tried to steer their selection: Do you like black or white shoes? Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers? Spider Man or Super Man? But sometimes, a kid just wants to see every single shoe in their size…who am I to quash their fashion sense?
It was a very rewarding day, all around. The kids got a brief break from their summer school class and most were so excited about their new shoes, they wanted to wear them home (discouraged by the volunteer fitters, lest the new shoes end up in a mud puddle before they ever make it home). All of the volunteers involved helped remove a small part of the stigma that the new school year can bring for children living in poverty. While many kids hit the mall for a new back-to-school wardrobe with their parents, these kids often don’t even get the basics. They might start school with uncomfortable, ill-fitting, holey, worn out shoes. Thanks to Valerie Denghel and the First Day Shoe Fund, more than 1200 local elementary school children will be on “equal footing” come September 6.
First Day Shoe Fund mission statement: The First Day Shoe Fund provides new shoes to children K-2 in the Kalamazoo Public School system who qualify for free and reduced lunch. We believe that all children should start school on equal footing. http://www.firstdayshoefund.org/
Shoe fitters, shoe inventory volunteers, greeters, baggers, photographers, board members. It is an event that requires a lot of hands to keep it running smoothly. I volunteered just one day of the distribution, and brought my friend, Samantha along with me. (She’s a teenager on summer vacation…what else is she going to do?)
We took on a couple of different roles at the distribution. She took note of the shoe sizes each child left with (to track inventory), helped them put their new shoes in a labeled bag (can you imagine 25 pairs of kids shoes in unlabeled bags all strewn haphazardly around a summer school classroom? End of day madness! Apparently, this happened one year…) and sent them to wait with their classmates until everyone was done.
I helped with the actual shoe fitting process. I don’t have kids, nor am I often around small children enough to know anything about their clothing/shoe sizes. I felt a tad lost and worried. But, luckily, FDSF partners with a few local shoe stores to help ensure proper fitting. A store manager and employees from a local Payless Shoe store brought along their handy foot measurers (technical term?), and showed me how it was done.
After I measured each child’s foot, I brought them over to the table with the box full of their size and helped them pick out a new pair. Someone smarter than me would probably not allow each child to hunt through the whole box…but I’m such a big softie. For the most part, I tried to steer their selection: Do you like black or white shoes? Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers? Spider Man or Super Man? But sometimes, a kid just wants to see every single shoe in their size…who am I to quash their fashion sense?
It was a very rewarding day, all around. The kids got a brief break from their summer school class and most were so excited about their new shoes, they wanted to wear them home (discouraged by the volunteer fitters, lest the new shoes end up in a mud puddle before they ever make it home). All of the volunteers involved helped remove a small part of the stigma that the new school year can bring for children living in poverty. While many kids hit the mall for a new back-to-school wardrobe with their parents, these kids often don’t even get the basics. They might start school with uncomfortable, ill-fitting, holey, worn out shoes. Thanks to Valerie Denghel and the First Day Shoe Fund, more than 1200 local elementary school children will be on “equal footing” come September 6.
First Day Shoe Fund mission statement: The First Day Shoe Fund provides new shoes to children K-2 in the Kalamazoo Public School system who qualify for free and reduced lunch. We believe that all children should start school on equal footing. http://www.firstdayshoefund.org/
