Published Tuesday, March 18, 2003
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
While most of the sneakers the Shoe Our Children program gives to area school students are handed out at the start of the school year, the volunteers that run the program are busy year-round.
"All year we're wheeling and dealing for buys for shoes," said Karen Winner-Hale, who makes the deals and organizes the annual fund-raising concert and dinner.
And, for most of the year, she's getting calls from school nurses saying they have a student that has come in with shoes too big, too small or in bad shape and needs a new pair.
"If there's a need out there, we want to be able to fulfill it," she said.
The program started in 1994 and has given away 19,779 pairs of shoes. Children in public and private schools in Mercer County and Brookfield -- from Head Start to 12th grade -- who are eligible for free or reduced lunches can get a new pair of shoes.
Application forms are sent to the schools to be passed out to parents. The foundation never sees who is receiving the shoes, only the orders for certain sizes and ages.
When the program started, it was giving away 1,800 to 2,000 pairs of shoes. For the last three years, it has given away 2,300 to 2,500 pairs, Ms. Winner-Hale said.
The increased demand has made it tougher to raise enough money to meet it.
The Shoe Our Children fund-raiser has attracted 468 people the last two years, but is no longer raising enough to cover the program budget, which is $24,650 this year.
Ms. Winner-Hale said she is looking into other fund-raisers and would accept donations.
"The need is not going to go away," she said. "We need to be prepared to meet that need and see an increase."
The idea behind the program was from Ms. Winner-Hale's father, James E. Winner Jr.
"He can remember going to school and not having a new pair of shoes," said foundation Executive Director the Rev. Larry Haynes. "You can feel that shame of not having a good pair of shoes or what the other kids have."
Ms. Winner-Hale said she buys as many different styles as she can so that not all the students who receive the sneakers get the same type.
"We don't get too many complaints about the shoes they get," Rev. Haynes said. "A lot of families are just grateful for them."
The increased need probably gets to the heart of the economic climate in the Shenango Valley.
"I think a lot of people are not aware of the financial situation of the people in the community like ours," Rev. Haynes said, adding the foundation is seeing an increase in applications for funding in other programs.