‘Shoe Lady’ pairs children with new footwear

They came to the gym in small groups, straining against the restraining hands of their teachers and hopping up and down with excitement. They stared at several large tables piled high with brand new shoes and socks.

The footwear was provided by Harriet Jacobson, known as the “Shoe Lady.” She travels to community centers and schools bringing new shoes to low-income children. Wednesday was her annual visit to the Early Childhood Education Assistance Program at Trentwood Elementary.

With 108 children, this day was Jacobson’s largest. “I brought every shoe I had in those sizes,” she said.

Four-year-old Tasia Sirmons was one of the first to arrive. She had her feet measured and was taken to a table filled with shoes in her size. She held a pair of flowered slip-on shoes against her feet. “They fit me,” she said.

But the shoes were a little too big. The next pair was a little too small. The third pair, white sneakers with Velcro straps, fit just right. “They’re pretty and I want to bring them home,” she said. She picked a pair of bright blue socks to take with her.

Some children quietly admired their new shoes while others immediately tried to find out if their shoes made them a faster runner.

Stuart Scott knew just what he wanted – shoes that light up when you take a step. He grabbed the first pair he saw. “I’ll take it,” said the 5-year-old. Volunteer Shelley Shipman coaxed him into trying the shoes on, slipping them on his feet.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he said. As soon as she finished, he sprang up off the floor and dashed across the gym at full speed. “They’re perfect,” he said, test run completed.

Jacobson’s effort, which costs about $8,000 a year, is funded largely by members of Unity Church. She hit the “Black Friday” sales for cheap socks and shops the clearance sales at Payless Shoes, where she buys all her shoes. “I get what I can get when I can get it,” she said. “They give me an extra discount. You’d be amazed what prices I get sometimes.”

A small army of volunteers arranged the shoes before the children arrived, sorting them by size. Children are led only to the table that has their size so they don’t see something they like on another table and get disappointed if it’s not available in their size. Each child also gets a new pair of socks.

So far no child has had to go without a new pair of shoes. “If I don’t have their size, I’ll get it,” she said.

Stevie Hanson, an ECEAP social worker, was happy to spend the morning being a personal shoe shopper. “I have never seen such excited little children,” she said. “It’s my favorite day every year.”