Share the Spirit Foundation Holds Annual ‘Shoe-Fest’

Finding the Right Size

Youngsters, some as young as three years, enjoyed a pre-Christmas gift this past Friday, October 16^th as the Share the Spirit Foundation held their annual shoe give-away event at J and N Shoes in downtown Lamar.

Shoe Give-Away in Progress

The Foundation received an extra financial assist towards the estimated $5,000 price tag, with a $1,000 donation from the Two Shot Goose Hunt board of directors. Foundation Vice-President, Rose Ann Yates explained, “This is such a wonderful event and because it means a lot to the community, our board decided we wanted to participate.  We donated $1,000 this year and we hope we can continue to do it year after year.”

Chana Reed, Rose Ann Yates and Karen Voepel

Karen Voepel, who is the co-founder of Share the Spirit added, “We donate the shoes each year, but hold a fundraiser every other year. Approximately 140 youngsters from the Head Start program all the way into high school are able to fill out a form for a pair of shoes.”  She said Eads, Granada, Springfield and some other schools will participate, but the number of donations is regulated, “Each student fills out a form which is given to Jennifer Steward at J & N Shoes.  That gives her an idea of how many shoes will be needed, styles, sizes and so forth.”

It’s a form of happy pandemonium at the downtown store with some older students helping fit shoes for younger ones, and teachers and volunteers alike bringing out shoes for the students to try on. Voepel said, “These shoes are going to last at least a year, and for some youngsters, this will be the only pair of shoes they have all year.”  She thanked Jennifer Steward for arranging the give-away in her store over the past years, “She does an awesome job for all of us and she and her staff go all out to make this a very happy occasion for all the kids.”

By Russ Baldwin