KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gift of Sole is KSHB 41's Kevin Holmes' brain child.
He uses his voice as a nightly anchor at KSHB 41 to inspire and gift students with new shoes.
Shayn Berry is entering his senior year of high school.
Right now he feels "a lot of people don't talk to me that much," so he hopes new kicks serve as conversation starters.
"People might just come up to me, ask me, 'Oouu, where are those shoes from?'" Berry said.
Kalia London was hired to tutor at PAL over a year ago. She’s become like an older sister for the students.
“I’m looking forward to them coming up to me and being like, ‘Ohh, I like my shoes, how’d they’d know I would like these,'" she said.
London selected each shoes based on the students’ personalities.
Josue Colon walks 10 minutes to the bus everyday.
He told KSHB 41's Samantha Gutierrez the shoes will make him more comfortable as he enters sophomore year of high school.
Jacklyn Garcia has been at this PAL since it opened and has watched her dad coach students.
As a recent high school graduate, she says these shoes will signify a "new chapter of her life."
“I'm gonna use these shoes for everything — for my training, for everything that I might need them — they’re gonna be there," she said. "I hope to finish my dreams with these shoes."
As for Berry, he hopes they give him the confidence to become prom king.
“Kinda excited to see how that’ll go," he said. "Don’t know if I can do it, but I hope I can."
You don’t need to walk a mile in their shoes to help. You can donate now on the campaign's website.
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KSHB 41 is a Voice for Everyone. You can learn more about our coverage, including our mission statement, on our landing page.
If you have a voice or story to share, e-mail us at voice@kshb.com.
