Grace United Methodist Church had 245 pairs of shoes at the start of its now-annual Kicks for Kids event Saturday.
Within the first 90 minutes, it had less than 40 pairs left. Organizer Russ Conrade says the event definitely fills a community need with school starting in less than three weeks.
Conrade says there were less than 10 pairs left by the end of the event. Organizers will also order better than 70 pairs Monday with the hopes of having those in hand before the start of the school year in mid-August.
This year’s event also had two external partners, CareArc for fluoride treatments and the Emporia Lions Club for vision screening. Conrade believes more partners could be added to the event in years down the road.
