By MATT PIKE
AFL CIO Community Services in St. Joseph is asking for shoe donations ahead of the 23rd annual Soles for Christ shoe distrubition event next month for students in need of shoes ahead of the new school year.
Since the program's inception in 2003, nearly 20,000 pairs of shoes have been donated (19,949). The organization expects to pass the 20,000 mark, and possibly even the 21,000 mark this year. Last year, the program distributed 1,119 pairs of shoes to students preschool through 12th grade in Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton, and DeKalb counties in Missouri and Doniphan County in Kansas.
Director Nichi Seckinger says the big need currently, ahead of the distribution event in August, is donations of tennis shoes.
"Usually we have a few shoes that come over year to year, but inevitably the ones that we have linger are the ones that we don't use as much of, or we'll have 100 pairs of one size that just are overstock," Seckinger says on the KFEQmunnity show. "But then we'll have a large portion of shoes that we literally run out of at the end of each distribution, so we have to do drives each year to restock our inventory."
Seckinger says every size of shoes are needed for the distribution, but there are some certain sizes that students come in for more frequently than others.
"The midrange kid sizes, the ones you'll see boys and girls both from about size two to about size seven in adults are really the ones we see that go the most," Seckinger explains. "But when we get into our high school kids of course we're into adult sizes, and we see plenty of those, last year I think I had to get a dozen size 16 mens shoes for our high school boys."
Shoe donations can be brought to the AFL-CIO Community Services offices ahead of the distribution event. The shoe distribution will be held on August 10th and 11th, from 9am to 7pm both days, at the Scottish Rites Temple in St. Joseph.
Seckinger says once parents and students get into the building things move rather quickly.
"Parents can bring the kids in and we will get them sized and fitted and taken care of," Seckinger says. "They get to try on several different pairs of shoes, and they get to pick, and I think a lof ot imes that's really fun for them because it's their choice."
AFL-CIO Community Services will also need volunteers to help with several different positions throughout the distribution event. To voluteer you can contact the office.
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