Donation Drive Provides Shoes To Those In Need

Throughout the past week, the Shoe Kansas City shoe drive donation box was open for donations. Pairs of gently-used flats, boots, sneakers and sandals were able to be dropped off in Shoe Kansas City’s large cardboard box outside of the main office.

All administrative offices and schools in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD), including East, have been holding shoe drives for Shoe Kansas City this week. The shoe drive is a cooperative effort with the SMSD and National Education Association (NEA)-Shawnee Mission, the professional organization for SMSD teachers.

Spanish teacher Linda Sieck and American history teacher Brenda Fishman helped bring the shoe drive to East. Sieck is one of the high school representatives on the NEA-Shawnee Mission’s executive board, and Fishman is East’s building representative.

“Thousands of Kansas Citians in need will receive new or gently used shoes,” Sieck said.

Shoe Kansas City’s main objective is to donate shoes to the homeless, or those living in poverty. The organization began as Elite Feet, a shoe store founded in 1997 by Don and Leslie Nottberg in Overland Park. According to their website, Elite Feet began holding shoe drives in 1998. Over the years they started branching out and holding shoe drives in other locations, and Shoe Kansas City eventually diverged into its own nonprofit organization.

In 2011, Shoe Kansas City collected more than 13,000 pairs of shoes from SMSD and other partners. This is East’s third annual shoe drive, and so far upwards of 50 pairs of shoes have been donated this year.

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