Shoes4Kids
Announcements
7/3/2018 APTA
NEXT 2018: Shoes4Kids Collection
Thank you to the many who donated and volunteered in Orlando!
Thank you to the many who donated and volunteered in Orlando!
APTA members and staff donated more than 737 shoes and many, many socks to Devereux Foster Care program in Florida last Saturday, June 30. Check out stories and pictures below.
Donations came from APTA's CSM Step Challenge where CSM attendees, APTA members and staff raised $10,000 by walking 100 million steps in 3 days. Then APTA members and staff collected monetary donations, shoes and socks to bring to Devereux Foster Care in Florida. As part of the step challenge, each member wrote a special note on a shoe cut-out (sponsored by CORA Physical Therapy) which were presented to each child and youth during the shoe fittings.
A word from Devereux Foster Care Organization: "Thanks again for making such a memorable experience
for all of our youth! Each of them truly felt loved on and were so excited to have a brand new
pair of shoes - something that is very rare for all of them. You made a difference in the lives of
hundreds of kids this past Saturday - and for many more days to come!
38 Shoes4Kids Volunteers
(APTA members and students and faculty from University of Central Florida)
S4K volunteers hard at work sorting the hundreds of shoes.
for all of our youth! Each of them truly felt loved on and were so excited to have a brand new
pair of shoes - something that is very rare for all of them. You made a difference in the lives of
hundreds of kids this past Saturday - and for many more days to come!
38 Shoes4Kids Volunteers
(APTA members and students and faculty from University of Central Florida)
S4K volunteers hard at work sorting the hundreds of shoes.
Shoe bins being prepped for the shoe fitting.
This teen came into the gym and was so embarrassed by the state of his shoes that he hid them shoes under the chair.
They were way too small and extremely worn (see how the top of the shoe runs outside of the
sole). It was only by ALOT of coaxing that we were able to get this before and after shoe shot.
This teen came into the gym and was so embarrassed by the state of his shoes that he hid them shoes under the chair.
They were way too small and extremely worn (see how the top of the shoe runs outside of the
sole). It was only by ALOT of coaxing that we were able to get this before and after shoe shot.
A young man came into the gym with his eyes set on the tan high tops. They were a little
too tight but he held onto them, determined to make them work. When a volunteer approached him
with another pair of high tops that were a little larger (allowing room for growth) he reluctantly agreed to try them on.
When this boy noticed another young man eyeing these tan high tops he walked over to him and gave them to him - giving up something to make someone else feel good. There were smiles and tears all around.
This young man came in wearing shoes where his toe was pushing outside of
the shoes (see red-circled spot above). He broke into the largest grin
after getting SHAQ tennis shoes that fit.
Happy Feet (S4K volunteers with newly "shoe'd" recipients.
This group of feet belongs to 1 foster family. Their dad coordinated the photo
to demonstrate their gratitude for the shoes donated to each child!
About Shoes4Kids
Shoes4Kids, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization consisting of local businesses, churches, community organizations partnering together to provide new athletic shoes and mentoring programs for fatherless and at risk children and their families. Through ongoing mentoring programs Shoes4Kids builds close-knit relationships where each party is intricately connected to one another. Shoes4Kids has been designed to Create a 'Safety Net' for children who might otherwise 'Fall through the cracks' of existing programs.
Shoes4Kids/NEXT 2018 will be helping this Orlando, FL agency:
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Florida.
Devereux Florida is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization;
DOACS #: CH 1988. Devereux's Federal Identification Number (FIN) is 23-1390618.
About Devereux Florida: For over 25 years Devereux Florida, a part of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, has provided child welfare and behavioral healthcare services in Florida, serving children with mental health issues, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and behavioral health challenges, and their families. The following are services that Devereux offers the Orlando Community; Group Homes, Foster Care and Specialty Foster Care, Counseling Centers, Case Management, Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services, and Community Outreach Programs.
The Devereux Foster Care program in the Central Florida area is responsible for licensing over 175 foster homes in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties and caring for over 300 foster children placed in these homes. The Devereux Orange County Dependency Case Management Organization oversees over 400 children involved in the child welfare system of care, whether the children are in foster homes, group homes, or placed with relative caregivers.
with another pair of high tops that were a little larger (allowing room for growth) he reluctantly agreed to try them on.
When this boy noticed another young man eyeing these tan high tops he walked over to him and gave them to him - giving up something to make someone else feel good. There were smiles and tears all around.
This young man came in wearing shoes where his toe was pushing outside of
the shoes (see red-circled spot above). He broke into the largest grin
after getting SHAQ tennis shoes that fit.
Happy Feet (S4K volunteers with newly "shoe'd" recipients.
This group of feet belongs to 1 foster family. Their dad coordinated the photo
to demonstrate their gratitude for the shoes donated to each child!
About Shoes4Kids
Shoes4Kids, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization consisting of local businesses, churches, community organizations partnering together to provide new athletic shoes and mentoring programs for fatherless and at risk children and their families. Through ongoing mentoring programs Shoes4Kids builds close-knit relationships where each party is intricately connected to one another. Shoes4Kids has been designed to Create a 'Safety Net' for children who might otherwise 'Fall through the cracks' of existing programs.
Shoes4Kids/NEXT 2018 will be helping this Orlando, FL agency:
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Florida.
Devereux Florida is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization;
DOACS #: CH 1988. Devereux's Federal Identification Number (FIN) is 23-1390618.
About Devereux Florida: For over 25 years Devereux Florida, a part of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, has provided child welfare and behavioral healthcare services in Florida, serving children with mental health issues, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and behavioral health challenges, and their families. The following are services that Devereux offers the Orlando Community; Group Homes, Foster Care and Specialty Foster Care, Counseling Centers, Case Management, Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services, and Community Outreach Programs.
The Devereux Foster Care program in the Central Florida area is responsible for licensing over 175 foster homes in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties and caring for over 300 foster children placed in these homes. The Devereux Orange County Dependency Case Management Organization oversees over 400 children involved in the child welfare system of care, whether the children are in foster homes, group homes, or placed with relative caregivers.
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1/16/18 APTA
Do you take for granted that your kids have new shoes that fit?I think many of us do. Well the tiny clients that Shoes4Kids supports often get their first pair of brand new shoes, fitted to their feet no less, from this amazing organization. One little girl in particular is hard to forget. When she was brought in to get new shoes a couple of years ago, a volunteer tried to take her jelly shoes off her feet, but could not. They were embedded in her feet and had to be cut off. Brad Thuringer, founder of the nonprofit added “Memorable, too, was the joy on a young girl's face when she exclaimed, "I'm so glad I don't have to wear these anymore!" She was trying to hide from sight her old slippers, but I caught a glimpse of them. They were worn completely through.” Brad is a PTA, and an instructor and the academic coordinator of clinical education for the PTA program at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota. He founded the organization in 2005 after buying dinner for a homeless family and seeing the state of the kids shoes. Earlier that week, he had floated to PTA colleagues the idea of creating a service activity to give something back to the cities that host APTA conferences. What about some sort of shoe-distribution event to benefit the children of homeless families? The idea blossomed into Shoes4Kids, and since then has distributed over 10,000 pairs of new, brand-name athletic shoes and over 7,000 pairs of new socks to children in conference host cities. This year, CSM attendees will be able to enjoy quality time in their own shoes while they help these kids in need!
How does this work? APTA has committed to donate $10,000 to Shoes4Kids if the CSM 2018 participants in the #Step4Kids walking challenge log 100 million steps over the 3 days of the main conference! The shoes will be distributed at NEXT 2018 in Orlando in June. Attendees will be instructed via email and signage at the conference to go to a mobile app/webpage and sign up to join the step challenge. They can then connect the app to their fitness device or phone or put in their steps manually. Each individual will have a goal of walking at least 30,000 steps over 3 days and they can check their, and the group progress, in the app! APTA chose a group step challenge with a goal to help the kids, so that it is in line with our president, Sharon Dunn’s mission, to make us “better together”. Cora Physical Therapy has graciously agreed to sponsor this challenge. Participants can pick up stickers onsite that will announce to others that they are part of the challenge, and they can visit the Cora PT booth in the Exhibit Hall to pick up a give-away and enter to win a prize. To top off the experience, participants will improve their own movement while the walk the streets of enchanting New Orleans and at the same time step together for good.
