New Year, New Shoes
By Chelsea Jupin
Children in Henry Street Settlement’s shelters are headed back to school with some new shoes, thanks to an extremely large and generous donation of new athletic shoes. Henry Street Settlement distributed over 5,000 pairs of new donated shoes to the men, women and children living in Henry Street’s supportive and transitional housing shelters as well as other nearby shelters and clinics.
Henry Street worked for three days to prepare the large deliveries so that each recipient location was able to give away dozens of new pairs of shoes to their residents and clients.
To prepare for such a massive undertaking, Henry Street’s Volunteer Program enlisted the help of a large group of individual and corporate volunteers. Among the corporate groups was a team from Macy’s, who know a little something about dealing with large quantities of shoes. The Macy’s employes and the other volunteers helped make sure that each shipment was organized, and labeled so that each shelter could easily get each new pair of shoes right to their intended recipients.
Macy’s has provided continued generous support to all of Henry Street Settlement’s programs; their recent support of youth programs such as Boys and Girls Republic has helped BGR to enhance each child’s academic progress, social development and emotional well-being.
