An Arkansas mom buys out the stock at a closing payless shoe store to help kids in need.
Carrie Jernigan of Alma, Arkansas, took her daughter to a Payless going-out-of-business sale to get her a new pair of shoes. She ended up leaving with every pair in the store.
At the check out counter she jokingly asked the clerk, “How much for the rest of the shoes in here?
Her joke turned into an idea: What if she did buy all the shoes and donated to those in her community in need?
That’s exactly what she decided to do.
Jernigan ended up buying 1,500 pairs of shoes, in sizes ranging from infants to a men’s 13. She is keeping them in her house for now, as the community comes together to help her distribute the shoes — and more.
The good deed has snowballed beyond shoes. Now, churches and local businesses are now planning a big back-to-school event to give away the shoes, along with free haircuts, eye exams, and other things children might need as they gear up for the new school year.
“In the grand scheme of things in this country, this is a tiny blip,” Jernigan said. “But if it continues to grow and … it makes you do one little thing for that student fixing to go back to school then it matters to that one kid.
Shoes that fit, a non-profit that provides new shoes to children in need, says when they give kids new athletic shoes, 70% percent of their schools report an increase in physical activity and 40% of the schools report higher attendance.