Bowling Green Rotary Club Shoe Project at local schools

WARREN COUNTY.- Many students at local schools are in need, and a group of people all about service stepped in to help by providing shoes that are a necessity this season.

Bowling Green Rotary Club recognizes that not everyone has access to new shoes, so they partnered with Shoe Carnival and targeted many schools with the greatest need for shoes. They donated hundreds of shoes to children at Warren Elementary School, Bristow Elementary School and Dishman McGinnis Elementary school.

The tradition has been kept alive for several years, because it means so much to the children and the people who have the chance to give.

Tom Sharp, the membership commission chairman of the Bowling Green Rotary Club, has been a part of the Rotary for years and is motivated and encouraged by the reaction and responses he is able to see from the people he serves.

He says, “We just like to help out as much as we can in the community. It’s really the smiles on the kids when they see their shoes put on and most of them are just beaming. That’s really what it’s all about.”

The teachers and staff who support these students daily see the need that the students have, and they won’t let a child in need go unnoticed especially as the seasons change.

One faculty member in particular is Jennifer Gamble. Gamble is the family resource assistant, and she interacts with the students and their families more often than most.

Jennifer says, “I’m so excited because some of these kids are really in big need and a lot of them have shoes or just hand-me-downs or whatever we can find for them.”

The Shoe Project impacts the kids by providing a necessity they may not even know they need. Some children had shoes that were too big or too small, and for many children these are their first pair of shoes picked specifically for them.

Ashley Sullivan, the family resource coordinator, describes this as completely changing their whole educational experience, but love and support don’t stop at education, it carries over into the students’ personal lives.

Sullivan also shares, “These kids may not be receiving assistance at home. Our children will be impacted by receiving this donation because they know that they have people who are here to support them not only at school but at home and in our community.”

The Bowling Green Rotary Club plans to continue serving, and doing more service projects like this in the communities near and far. While helping to advance the people they serve to make greater impacts, no matter where they are.