There’s nothing like a new pair of shoes. This afternoon, all James K. Polk Elementary School students in Alexandria’s West End received free sneakers.
That’s 770 pairs of shoes, all donated to the students by Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Operation Warm and Georgia-based builder Beazer Homes. The event was just one in a handful today across the country that the companies are offering to school systems.
“That’s about 3,000 pairs of shoes to schools across the country,” Beazer Homes CEO Allan Merrill said. “Kids often get their new shoes at the beginning of the school. Yeah, you get into the later in the year, their feet have grown and they gotta wait six months to get new shoes. Not today.”
Operation Warm has been giving away coats and shoes to kids for decades. The nonprofit partners with a manufacturer to make the shoes, and gives away more than 1 million coats and shoes annually.
“The shoes but are lightweight, machine washable,” said Operation Warm organizer Hayley Bell. “They’re built to last for the kids, and they’re fun and comfortable.”
Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt also outfitted kids with shoes at the giveaway, which took place in the school gym.
“Shoes are very expensive right now,” Kay-Wyatt said. “If we can help our families in any way, even with something of a small as a pair of shoes, think about what that does to a family. They can use those funds to do something else in their family household. We’re just grateful that we have this opportunity.”
Incidentally, Polk Elementary was recently in the news. Earlier this week, Polk third grade teacher Sharon Phox was named Virginia Regional Teacher of the Year.
