Children of all ages, sizes and shapes, mums, dads and extended families packed the athletic field next to the Boys and Girls Club on Carew Street on Saturday as Vox Church and the club hosted the second annual sneaker event to school.
Vox Church campus coordinator Daniel Tedone estimated that about 3,000 people came to participate to receive a pair of sneakers and a backpack for each child in need, and to enjoy the carnival atmosphere with bounce houses, food stalls and activities.
Tedone said the church had hoped to be able to give away perhaps 1,000 pairs of sneakers in the next few years. This was an ultimate goal. That goal came on Saturday.
“Last year we had to turn away so many kids. We gave away 600 pairs of sneakers and maybe 300 backpacks, but we noticed kids showing up without socks, with holes in their shoes. Clearly, there’s a need,” he said given “We wanted to strengthen it because we had to turn away a lot of people and we didn’t want to have to do it again this year. So, we went out and looked for sponsors and they stepped in.”
City businesses such as Health New England, Stop and Shop, Fallon Health, Chick-Filet and Hot Table contributed. Nonprofits such as Make It Springfield, Moms of Western Mass, Teen Think the Springfield Rescue Mission, Literacy Lab and Hope for Kids participated, as well as the Springfield Police Department, Fire Department and Springfield Public Library. Springfield.
Still, the 1,000 pairs of sneaker organizers they were able to purchase this year were gone just two hours after the 10 a.m. start. Tedone said families started lining up an hour earlier. Does this mean we’ll see 2,000 pairs of sneakers next year?
“Yes,” he said. “We would like to make 2,000 pairs but that depends on sponsorships; sneakers are expensive. Depending on what we can do with sponsorships and partnerships, that’s what we’ll do. We’re going to expand as much as we can.”
The most immediate concern Saturday was for 9-year-old Christian Gonzalez as he patiently waited for his sneakers. He sat down with church volunteer Corey Sanders to wash his feet, like all the kids who received sneakers, and a fresh pair of new socks were put on his feet before he put on his shoes .
“We talk to kids about who they are, what they like to do, hobbies, things like that,” Sanders said. “We develop a common sense with them and try to create Jesus in all of them; we want to help them have that relationship.”
Two seats down, 7-year-old Khadija Ali was so enthralled with her new pair of shiny silver sneakers that she wanted to leave with them right now, even though they were a little too small. Church volunteer Lisa Lubanski had to convince the girl to try a second partner.
Outside, bike enthusiast Robert Thomas used his mechanical skills Saturday to help assemble the 18 bikes that RAD Springfield handed out to kids who might not otherwise have a bike.
RAD Springfield is part of Make It Springfield.
“Make it Springfield is a community space located near the intersection of Main Street and Worthington Street and it does all kinds of things: art classes, woodworking instruction, sewing, and every Monday it turns into a pop-up bike shop that we call RAD Springfield. ,” he said.
There the group takes the donated bikes and fixes them up for eventual distribution to people in the city who need transportation. But more than just giving away bikes, Thomas said the group also teaches kids how to fix their own bikes.
“We have a full set of tools for them to use along with volunteer mechanics to work with them,” he said. “It’s all part of our philosophy, recycle and reuse.”
