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Civic groups team up to give 256 pairs of shoes to needy kids in Golden Gate
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Kicks for Kids
The Rotary Club of Naples Bay was at Grace Place giving away underwear for boys and girls and socks and 256 pairs of shoes to local children through Moates' Kicks for Kids foundation. Bob Moates began Kicks for Kids in 1996 and has given away about 12,000 pairs of shoes to needy children since its inception.
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As parents tried the shoes on the excited kids, pinching their toes to see how well the footwear fit, Bob Moates smiled.
He knows what a new pair of shoes means to a needy child — Moates was one himself.
“They are so deserving,” said Moates, co-founder of Moates’ Kicks for Kids Foundation, on Friday. “When you look at some of the poor little fellows, it makes tears come to your eyes. It (the shoes) helps them stand taller.”
In a joint venture between the Rotary Club of Naples Bay and Moates’ Kicks for Kids, 256 pairs of shoes were distributed to needy kids at Grace Place, a faith-based not-for-profit in Golden Gate which serves more than 300 families and children a year.
“The program is going real well,” Moates said, adding that his group has been active for the past nine years. “This makes over 12,000 pairs (of shoes) that we’ve distributed.”
More than 300 people attended Friday’s event, said Stephanie Robbins, director of Development and Communications for Grace Place.
“The families are so appreciative of this effort,” she said of working with the Naples Bay Rotary Club and Moates’ Kicks for Kids. “It’s an exciting collaboration.”
In addition to the shoes, the groups also distributed boys’ briefs, girls’ panties, and socks to the needy children.
But the need surpassed the supply, Robbins said, because some of the children didn’t get shoes because there were none in their sizes.
However, both the Rotary Club and Moates will head back to Grace Place soon to distribute shoes to those whose sizes weren’t available Friday.
“It’s just a wonderful situation,” said Naples Bay Rotary Club member Ken Ruskin. “We are so happy to be able to do something like this.”
Daily News photographer Lexey Swall contributed to this report.
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They need a catchy name. The Imelda Marcos project comes to mind. Just kidding.
#1 Posted by swampbuggy on April 25, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Every illegal should have at least one shoe.
#2 Posted by Paradise on April 26, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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