Sportie LA Packs in the Shoes!

Just a few of the boxes of donated shoes!

Ever walk into a store and say, “WOW!”? That’s what we said when Allan, Sondra and I entered the Sportie LA store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Sportie LA specializes in hard-to-find styles and colors, exclusive sneakers as well as the latest models. You will find products that you probably have not seen anywhere else. In fact, many of customers have said, “If Sportie LA doesn’t have it, it probably doesn’t exist.” They had more styles of shoes displayed in a small space than I thought was possible. Sondra was in shoe-heaven as she kept exclaiming, “Mom…these are so cute!” “Look at these sneakers! I love them!”
We met with Orna and the rest of her hard working staff as they showed us their back room…totally overflowing with gently used shoes. Their shoe drive for Soles4Souls turned into a major success as people kept donating shoes on a daily basis.

New Shoes for Very Special Children

For obvious reasons we can’t show the faces of the children we met at this shoe distribution at a group home. All the children have been removed from their homes because of abuse, or in some cases, because of failed adoptions. The whole facility had such a warm and fun atmosphere. Kids were outside, playing flag football with enthusiastic young staff. While I’m not sure how many traditional flag football rules were followed, everyone seemed to be having a great time. Kids came to our makeshift shoe store in small groups so we could give individual attention to each one. Staff told us many of the children arrive with only the clothes on their backs, so new shoes were certainly needed. As an extra treat, we once again brought out our Olympic torch for the kids to carry after they got their new shoes. It was a delight to meet these great kids who have been through some tough times. Hopefully our short visit will reinforce in their minds that most adults are caring people who will never hurt them.