Nearly every student at Indian Lake Elementary School is sporting a brand new pair of shoes thanks to Honda and Operation Warm-More than a Coat.
Honda and Operation Warm representatives reached out to ILES Guidance Counselor Jill Onyema months ago about giving kids coats. Onyema said the school had plenty of coats from community donations, so the organizations offered shoes instead.
“They are so excited!” Onyema said of the students. “We have a lot of kids that get shoes passed down from siblings or they get them at the Goodwill or the thrift store. But these are brand new shoes and they get to pick out the color.”
Honda volunteers helped students measure their feet, choose a pair of shoes, lace them up and try them on their feet.
Operation Warm Volunteer Engagement Manager Jean Burnett said it was important that every child receive a pair of shoes, regardless of need.
“Confidence is one of our biggest pillars of our mission, so every child at the school got a new pair of shoes — that’s almost 600 pairs of shoes that Honda brought to Indian Lake Elementary.”
“All the kids have been thrilled with the sizes and the colors. They’ve been jumping around and showing us how fast they can run. The volunteers have had such a good time.”
Second-grader Elijah Mowery wore his new blue and white shoes out of the gym and plans to wear them he says, “Until his foot grows out of them!”
About 30 ILES kiddos did not get shoes on distribution day because they ran out of their size or preferred color in their size. Honda and Operation Warm will ship those shoes to ILES in the next few days. All students were also provided with two new pairs of socks to go with their kicks.
