Thanks to Rack Room Shoes and the Shoes That Fit program, local Sycamore Park Elementary students got to go shopping for brand new shoes in November. More than 50 students received new pairs of shoes just before Thanksgiving. Older students traveled to the store to pick out their shoes. For younger students, Sycamore Park staff members Leanna Ewell and Alyssa Leuterio were the official shoppers who picked out shoes to be delivered to the students at school.
The morning of the event, students arrived at Rack Room just before the store opened. Store manager Tashana Williams and Assistant Manager Laura Gagliano were there to help measure student’s feet and assist with shopping. When asked how Sycamore Park was selected as the recipient of this program, Williams explained, “Rack Room shoes selects the local school with the highest poverty level.” Sycamore Park Elementary, a Title I School, has highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students in Culpeper County. Williams also explained that the money comes from the store’s local customers, who are given the option to donate to the program when they check out during certain times of the year.
Williams and Gagliano were pleased with the event, and talked about the children’s excitement when they walked, or in some cases, ran down the aisles in their new shoes. Williams said that she could see that the program was making a difference, and “It is great to see the smiles on the kids’ faces.” One student, whose old shoes were worn out, smiled, and said that his new shoes were “squishy.”
Assistant Principal Amy Cackowski drove the students from the school to Rack Room in CCPS vans and Principal Derek McWilliams was at the store to help with shoe selections. While the older students came to the store in small groups, Ewell and Leuterio stayed at the store to select shoes for younger students. They selected shoes for each student on the list very carefully, discussing the child, what he or she liked, and then chose a style that they thought would fit each student.
This round of the Shoes that Fit program provided more than $3,000 that went directly to the students at Sycamore Park. Williams said that this money was collected through the store’s Back to School campaign. She also said that the program has restarted for the holiday season and will be accepting donations until Christmas Eve. Any local citizens who would like to donate to the program can do so at the Culpeper Rack Room store.
About Shoes That Fit –
Rack Room Shoes is proud to partner with Shoes That Fit, a national non-profit that provides new shoes to children in need. Through our 15 year partnership with Shoes That Fit, Rack Room Shoes has provided more than 425,000 pairs of new shoes to underprivileged children. Every dollar raised in your community, stays in your community, directly benefiting local children!
Rack Room Shoes raises funds for the Shoes That Fit program during the back-to-school and holiday promotional periods. The collected funds are released to schools in the fall. The school and school liaison must use all the funds by the expiration date.
(https://www.rackroomshoes.com/p/shoesThatFit)
