By: Steve & Lori Sills
“Shoe of the Week” actually began as “Shoe of the Month.” My wife and I decided about a year ago to bless kids in our own creative way. We purchased shoes out of our own pockets, and rewarded students with them a couple times per month for their hard work, dedication, commitment, and kind acts. We saw how impactful the gesture was, so we prayed about it and decided to reach out to the community to see if they would like to get involved. We were blown away by the generosity of others. To make a long story short, we raised over ten thousand dollars, and gave out around 90 pairs of HIGH END shoes to students from kindergarten, all the way up to graduating seniors! We were now able to give out shoes weekly, verses monthly to deserving students.
My wife and I saw an increase in motivation, as well as work ethic in all of the students. Therefore, we decided to reach out to the Vice CEO of Hibbett, and they were gracious enough to meet with us. They loved our idea, and now play a significant role with our presentations. Hibbett has donated a total of $4500 over the past year for the initiative my wife and I have created. We are beyond grateful!
With that being said, we believe that this is only the beginning. One of our favorite quotes says, “Encouragement is like oxygen.” We believe this wholeheartedly. We hope to continue having donations come in, and anxiously look forward to encouraging the kids that we come into contact with each day.
Thanks,
Steve & Lori Sills
