A good pair of socks and shoes is something so many families take for granted – and it is something that so many families need.
It is time for Share the Shoes, an initiative to collect new socks and shoes to help kids in the community. KSAT Community is partnering with Zapatos and SAPD for the program.
“We want to make sure that all the kids have a good pair of shoes,” Margie Delatorre said.
Delatorre is a long-time volunteer for Zapatos, with a mission to help children.
“We have a lot of kids in our community that do not have a good pair of shoes. They might have shoes that are all torn up. They might have shoes that are too small for them. Zapatos makes sure that once those shoes, those children get identified that they get a good pair of tennis shoes,” Delatorre said.
Zapatos is working with San Antonio police to try and collect as many pairs of socks and shoes as possible.
“What this Share the Shoes means to me and SAPD is being able to give back to our community. I know personally that I’ve been able to give shoes back to a child and just seeing their smiling faces and how excited they were, I’m just happy that we’re going to be able to do that for more children out there,” Officer Brigitte Robinson said.
Robinson has been part of the program for years and knows firsthand the impact it has on local families.
“Sometimes this is the only pair of shoes that they have for the year, or is their first brand new shoes that they’ve ever had. So it’s super exciting to see how happy they are and just smiling and kind of showing them off,” Robinson said.
It is so easy to step up and help out kids in and around our community. You can go to any of the SAPD substations, walk right up to the Share the Shoes box, and drop off the new socks or shoes.
“It’s going to be until Dec. 16th. And last year, we were able to get 1,620 shoes, pairs of shoes. So we’re hoping this year to beat that,” Robinson said.
We know a lot of families need help this year – and Share the Shoes can answer the call.
“If you don’t have enough money to even buy food, shoes and socks will be at the very end of that,” Delatorre said.