It’s A BIG World, ShoeFits Helped Us Shoe It!
Most of us think of shopping for a new pair of shoes as a fun experience—a trip to the store with friends, or a special reward to ourselves to mark a wonderful event like a birthday. For some in our community though, it’s not a luxury they can afford because their priority is finding a safe place for their children and themselves as they escape an abusive relationship. Or perhaps they are just trying to make a better life for their families by working toward their GED and going through job training.
Whatever the reason, they are women who are striving for something better and need the opportunity to take that first step. No one understands this better than Jodi Webb and Shanna Trosclair, owners of Shoe Fits shoe store. For two weeks Jodi and her staff held a shoe drive giving women the opportunity to donate those shoes they forgot at the back of their closets that were still brand new, and the gently used pairs they wanted to part with.
“We’ve had promotions and events before,” Jodi said, “but nothing like this. People heard about the drive and dropped off from a couple of pairs to bags of shoes.” The shoes collected were donated to the United Way for South Louisiana and will be dispersed to the women’s shelters and programs in the parishes of Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne.
“When a woman has to leave her home in the middle of the night to get away from their abuser, she has to leave everything behind. The programs United Way funds like The Haven and Chez Hope assists these women and their children by first giving them a safe haven, and then through counseling, to start over and build a life they can be proud of,” Alina Merlos, United Way Director explains. “The shelters give them a chance to heal and then to search for a job that will give them the independence that will make it easy to leave their abuser behind. Something we all may consider as simple as a pair of shoes can build the confidence at a job interview that will put them on the path to a future free of abuse.”
Jodi and her staff have donated hundreds of pairs of new shoes to the United Way in the last few years, and plan to make the shoe drive an annual event. “We’re lucky to live where people are extremely generous, so thank you to everyone who participated this year,” Jodi said. “You all made a big difference to a lot of women trying to build a better life.”