Local organization gives winter boots to kids in need
Valley organization is making winter a little warmer for 400 area schoolchildren
AUSTINTOWN
“I can take them home!” Liam Racich exclaimed happily, clutching the box containing his brand-new winter boots.
The kindergartener was among 30 Austintown Elementary students who received boots, socks, gloves and a hat from Making Kids Count, a local organization that serves children and families in need.
Monday’s giveaway at AES was one of more than 20 stops – at schools in Struthers, Campbell, Youngstown, Sebring, Warren and others – Making Kids Count will make at Mahoning Valley schools this week. In all, the group will donate 400 pairs of boots.
“We did 215 last year, and there was still a need. We were fortunate to be able to increase to 400 this year, and that’s still just touching the surface, because there is such a need,” said MKC co-president Shelly Marlowe.
The “Best Foot Forward” program, now in its second year, was made possible by a $15,000 grant from the Italian Education Foundation. MKC raised an additional $3,000 to buy socks, hats and gloves.
The foundation approached Making Kids Count, Marlowe said, to express interest in providing funds for boots that are made in the United States. The shoes were purchased locally, at Family Farm and Home on Mahoning Avenue.
Making Kids Count selected schools based on the percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunches – schools with more than 40 percent participation were eligible. This year, 56.5 percent of Austintown Elementary students receive free or reduced lunches, according to information provided by the school.
“A lot of our kids walk to school because so many of them live so close. So, to know they have warm feet when they’re walking to school in the winter cold makes us feel better,” said school guidance counselor Kelley Mills, who also serves on MKC’s board of directors.
The Austintown Elementary students who received boots filed into a conference room, where Marlowe and MKC program director Colleen Eisenbraun helped fit them into their new shoes.
One little girl, new pink boots in hand, hopped away with a grin on her face, smiling brightly when asked if she liked her new boots.
Liam was joined by his older brother, Alex Racich. The pair sat next to each other as they received matching blue pairs.
Making Kids Count hopes to increase the number of winter boots it distributes next year, Marlowe said.