SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Confidence and success in school sometimes means looking the part. However, new clothes are a luxury many families simply cannot afford.
On Tuesday, each Glenwood Elementary School student got to pick out a brand new pair of shoes.
“I like my new shoes, they’re my favorite colors, blue, green, white and black,” said Enzo Martinez.
Hundreds of new kicks were presented by around a dozen volunteers.
“Miss Christina is great and she helped me put on my new shoes,” Enzo told FOX40.
Though she said she has given financially before, Tuesday was Christina Hake’s first time donating her time to the Starting Off on the Right Foot shoe drive and giveaway.
“It’s pretty amazing. I’m feeling pretty good right now,” she said.
This is the fifth year for the event, which is organized by Chicas Latinas de Sacramento. Group founder, Angela Chavez, said they promote leadership and community service among Latin American women.
Chavez’s goal is to have the people supporting her community reflect her community. Her goal for many of the volunteers who donated, fundraised and shopped for the event was personal.
“We’ve experienced having hand-me-downs, having thrift store shoes. And just knowing what it feels like to have shoes that maybe don’t fit right, that are falling apart, just not in great condition,” she explained.
Most children at Glenwood Elementary School live below the federal poverty line. But the back-to-school boost did not discriminate.
“No one feels that they’re singled out or left out,” Chavez said. “So whether your family can afford new shoes or can’t, every child is on an equal playing field, everyone is getting a new pair of shoes and they just light up.”
