More than 400 needy Lubbock kids get new shoes from the Lubbock Association of Realtors

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) — The Lubbock Association of Realtors held its Step Up for Kids event at the Shoe Department at the South Plains Mall this weekend.

This is a partnership with Communities in Schools of the South Plains to provide shoes for families in need.

“The excitement in all the kids as they open their pair of shoes and see it, a brand new pair of shoes that they’re going to be able to try on and take home,” said the director of retention and development communities. in southern plains schools, Eloisa Vigil, said.

This feeling of opening a new box of shoes is even sweeter for these children.

“Communities in Schools of the South Plains stepped in and helped identify children in need,” said Step Up for Kids Committee Chair Ginger Robertson.

The Lubbock Association of Realtors does it every year, but the need is greater this year.

“Last year, we distributed about 250 pairs of shoes. This year there will be over 400,” Robertson said.

This is a level of need the organization has never seen before.

“We really felt that this year there was more need than ever with everything going on with inflation,” Robertson said.

These shoes are a way for kids to express their personality, and they help the family with something everyone needs.

“If you’re a family of four and you can come in and buy four pairs of new shoes, and those are shoes that the family doesn’t have to pay for themselves, it gives them the opportunity to be able to go and maybe buy some food for the week,” Vigil said.

It’s over with the old and makes way for the new for each child in the family. Shoe Department store manager Mary Helensaenz said the parents show the volunteers how grateful they are.

“She kept saying, ‘Thank you, thank you,’ she had five kids,” Helensaenz said. “’Thank you, whoever is doing this, tell them we said thank you, because without anyone’s help, we are struggling.’ So, just by saying thank you, that they appreciate, hey, what more could you ask for? »

This is an annual event with plans to continue supporting these families.

“Children are growing up and if they can’t provide them with shoes this year, they probably won’t be able to provide them with shoes next year. It gives them the opportunity to come back and get a whole new pair of shoes,” Vigil said.

The families showed up at the central city shoe department, but Helensaenz says these shoes come from multiple cities.

For more information on the Lubbock Association of Realtors, click here. For more information on Communities in Southern Plains Schools, click here.

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