A local family has donated 40 pairs of new sneakers to the Boys and Girls Club of Paris for kids in need.
The family, who wish to stay anonymous, contacted the center back in December and asked if any children were in need of new sneakers.
“When I got the call from the family, it was a tremendous surprise,” said Katrina Mitchell, Unit Director for the club. “They said that in lieu of receiving gifts on Christmas, they as a whole wanted to give back.”
Mitchell said after she received the initial call, her staff went through the list of their 200 plus children to see who needed new shoes.
From there, they were able to compile a list of around 80 kids, some who Mitchell said hadn’t received new shoes since August.
Then just after lunch today, the family stopped by to drop off their belated gifts.
“It turned out that today we had most of the kids on the list that needed new shoes as it was a low attendance day,” said Mitchell.
She continued to say that through the excitement, the kids wanted to try on all the shoes even if they were “too big” just to get the chance to see what they looked like.
“The family also took three names today to get those kids some new sneakers. It’s just been an amazing day, and to have them put in the effort and thought is something extraordinary,” Mitchell added. “School is just about to start, so it was great timing.”
Of the number of kids left, Mitchell said they have around ten that are needing new sneakers.
If you’d like to donate a pair of sneakers, please contact the Boys and Girls Club of Paris at 903-784-6360
