“Shoes for Kids” campaign doubles expectations in first year

Aug 16, 2021 | 2:19 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – In June of this year, three local police departments teamed up with a community advocacy group to ensure every child has a new pair of shoes heading into the new school year.

Connecting Our Community along with Lethbridge Police Service (LPS), Blood Tribe Police (BTP), and Piikani RCMP hosted their first-ever shoe drive on August 14 at Lethbridge College.

Over the span of a month the goal was to collect 200 pairs of shoes for children in need.

Spokesperson, Mallory Kristjanson says they more than doubled that goal and collected 485 pairs of running shoes already collected and about $16,000 in monetary contributions.

Two elementary schools, one junior high, and one high school in Lethbridge will benefit from the shoes, as well as the Blood and Piikani communities.

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“Shoes are such an important daily thing that we need, an essential need that children deserve so that, with brand new shoes, not only are they going to be able to walk to and from school for those who have to walk, they’re also going to be able to participate in sports, in their gym classes, and also have that same dignity that their peers do with those brand new shoes,” says Kristjanson.

She says now that they have the shoes in hand they can start distributing them to the Blood Tribe, Piikani, within schools, and in the community.

Image of LPS Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh

“We know that one in five kids are in poverty and we need to come together and ensure that children are not only set for the school year with brand new shoes but to make sure that we can come together to support kids in youth,” Kristjanson adds.

She added that she wanted to thank everyone for helping donate, volunteer, and give back to the community through this initiative.

by Connor Gunn