I spent yesterday morning crying, I mean, volunteering at Rotary Happy Feet. A joint production of Mount Pleasant and East Cooper Breakfast Rotary Clubs, Happy Feet gives school shoes and socks to children whose parents could otherwise not afford them.
I cried, because I helped Jonathan. He’s already a heartbreaker, and he’s only four.
As I dug through the shoes at Target, I found only two pairs in his new size: both Marvel Comics superhero light-up affairs. I pulled out his favorite, spangled with Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, and his mother said, “Too big.”
They weren’t too big, Dear Reader. Jonathan had been wearing shoes FOR MONTHS that were three sizes too small.
I’ll never forget Jonathan’s face when he slipped his feet into shoes that didn’t turn his growing feet into a Geisha girl’s. I had to hide in the back of Target to cry.
Life is about making memories. For ourselves. For our loved ones. Even for complete strangers we’ll never see again.
To find out more about Rotary Happy Feet, click here: Rotary Happy Feet
When did you last make a memory?
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15 Comments
A good thing to do, Andra. It is interesting that the Rotaraians are actually with the children when buying shoes. It makes the giving a little more, okay, a lot more personal and connective. Happy Feet! A good name for a good initiative.
Memory for me was Friday night’s opening of an art exhibit that our garden club did the arrangements for. My daughter came with and we had the best time, including a photo in local newspaper. Yep. Good memory.
That’s a wonderful thing you did, Andra. I wonder why the mom thought his shoes were too big. Does she not understand how fast kids’ feet grow, or is she in denial? Among my friends with small children, they measure their growth in part through how many shoes they go through in a year. It’s expensive, for sure. But I imagine a kid with happy feet will be happy in many other ways too. Thanks for sharing this.
I love this kind of thing, which makes sense, since I am a social worker. I’m not involved enough with providing direct services and goods to people, as I spend my time in a chair saying, “What brings you in this week?”. I need to balance things out a bit more. Lovely post!
You are a good woman, Andra, and Happy Feet is a wonderful event. I volunteer at a place that feeds the hungry and I always feel a little sad for the children…they should not be hungry or be without decent clothes or shoes.
Those tears are well-spent. The world desperately needs people who care.
You already know how much I love this event, it’s truly the most favorite thing I do in Rotary. It is so great to see all the Rotarians so involved and helping kids shop and pick out their favorite shoes. We gave away 235 pairs of shoes and socks and I know how much that means to the families as well.
how beautiful, andra )
Made me cry just to read this, Andra, let alone be there. I love that Rotary does this every year. What seems saddest to me, however, is that Jonathan may not get another pair of shoes until this pair is beyond too small; that no matter how much some pay it forward and try to make a difference, it seems we can never do enough.
Oh Crikey, Andra, that made me well up. Orphans and kids on the sidelines, lonely kids and outcast kids, kids who are happy regardless of their lack of….everything; those children will be the death of me.
So touching…Too many kids in need on this earth; so very sad…
What a worthy cause, Andra!
They say that we get more than we give when we participate in charity. This is a lovely example of the truth in that sentiment.
:*-)
Children like little Jonathan bring me to tears at times, too, and it’s a wonderfully deep place it touches when we can extend to help others. This has been a rich time in our lives too with many happy and memory-making opportunities. October is a big birthday month in our family and there have been some wonderful reasons to gather together. That means a lot to me–especailly the older we get. I want all those memories to store up and last perhaps longer than we do. 🙂
It’s so hard to see young kids without basic necessities… I know Jonathon will remember his new shoes forever. Hopefully my sister will also remember her gift forever, I just gave her a Kindle download of of TLF. 🙂
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