When my mom asked me to go shoe shopping last week, I thought I’d be looking for a cute pair of winter boots. Instead, I found myself scouring rack after rack looking for a pair of purple sneakers in a girl’s size 8. You see, my mom is part of a small group of women from Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison, Indiana who have been providing shoes to school children in need for the past twenty years.

Now these women don’t just buy a bunch of cheap shoes in bulk and drop them off. Nope, they work with the guidance counselors in each of the schools they serve to ask each child what kind of style or color of sneaker they would like. The counselors measure their feet with a device provided by Trinity. Then these volunteers do their best to find the perfect shoe for every child.

There’s no fanfare, no note, no big red stamp that says donation – just a new pair of shoes in a brand new box. All the child knows is they needed shoes and the shoes appeared. This isn’t charity, this is dignity for a kid who just wants to fit in and look like all the other kids. All they want is a decent pair of shoes and clean socks that actually fit without holes in them.

It all started twenty years ago when my mom had two good friends who were teaching a reading readiness program in summer school in Madison. The first day of school, two of these pre-kindergarten children showed up barefoot because their family couldn’t afford shoes.

So, my mom and the women of the church jumped in and created the Trinity Shoe Program. Since then, they’ve purchased and delivered over 1,000 new pairs of shoes to children in need.

We are fortunate to partner with Shoe Sensation, a local business in Madison, however new shoes are expensive as you know. Each pair of new sneakers costs about $50 or less.

That’s why I’m asking you for your donation today. You see, more and more grade schools in Jefferson County are reaching out and asking for our help. We only host one fundraiser a year, our tea on Saturday, March 7, 2026. But the need continues to grow.

I’m asking you to give $50 today to purchase a new pair of shoes for a child in Kindergarten through Fourth Grade in Jefferson County. And if you can donate more, we’d be grateful. 100% of the money donated goes to buy shoes. No overhead. No fluff. Just shoes.

My mom told me that the last time she was dropping off shoes at one of the schools, she was standing outside the nurse’s office with all these bags from the shoe store. Two little girls walked past her on their way to lunch. And one little girl whispered excitedly to the other, “Oh, I hope those are my new shoes!” Please, won’t you donate today so the answer is “Yes!”.