Girls basketball team buys 50 pairs of sneakers to donate to Sunset Elementary schoolers: ‘Let’s spread kindness’

On the first day of school at Windsor Elementary, one of Kristen Myers’ second-graders wore a pair of sneakers she recognized.

Myers kept it to herself until one day her student proudly announced: “Teacher, did you know a kid bought me these shoes?”

The year prior, Myers was involved with a newly formed club basketball team that goes beyond the sport, fundraising in an effort to buy new shoes for kids in need around Cheney.

One of her pupils was the recipient of a pair of shoes purchased by the team, called “S2P” or “Shoes 2 Play,” and still remembered the gift months later.

“‘It’s really kind that another kid gave you these shoes,’ ” Myers said she told her student, “ ‘Let’s spread kindness.’ He said, ‘Okay, teacher, I promise.’ ”

Formed last year by Joshua Loera, S2P is a gaggle of fifth-grade girls who, on Sunday, roamed through the downtown Nike store with a mission to purchase 50 pairs of shoes and socks to donate to kids in need at Sunset Elementary in Airway Heights. This is their second time donating shoes; last year, more than 40 went to Windsor Elementary.

“We started our club team just wanting to teach these kids more than just basketball and being servant leaders,” Loera said. “Whenever we do our shoe drives here, we bring the team out, and they get to be a part of it and just understand how blessed they are.”

The girls excitedly scoured the store’s shoe selection to find the “cutest,” “coolest,” and “trendiest” kicks to bestow upon others.

“What I think was fun was being able to do it with people that I know and not random people,” 10-year-old Angela Yang said of shopping with her teammates. “And also, like, having the feeling that you’re giving stuff to people and not just being selfish.”

Loera and a handful of other adult supervisors guided their young shoppers in their selection, wary of white shoes that would show grass and mud stains, but also encouraging thoughtfulness that not every kid can easily afford a new pair of kicks. Sometimes even playing the sport to begin with is out of reach for their peers.

“(Our coaches are) always like, ‘You guys should be grateful that you got to get up this morning and play a game, or even be let to play a game. Some people aren’t as fortunate as you guys.’ ” Josephina Bolser, 10, said. “Adding to this community and helping other people that can do that might spark something for their future.”

After purchasing 50 pairs of sneakers from the Nike store, the players set out to write personalized notes for each of the recipients, wishing them well in their school years and telling them how cool they’re going to look rocking their new kicks.

The personal touch, Loera said, may plant a seed for the shoe recipients that they should also go out and do kind things for their peers, much like Myers’ second grader who still remembered his gift.

“The kids getting the shoes, it lets them know somebody cares about them,” Loera said. “I think there’s so much darkness in the world and things that happen where I think, if kids aren’t as blessed or can’t even get a new pair of shoes or things like that, it can get real easy to get tied up into that darkness.”

S2P is one of Loera’s myriad ventures for raising money to donate to local charities. He’s behind the Great Pumpkinfest hosted for years at Brickwest Brewing, where he hauls thousands of gourds from his family’s farm in Moses Lake to be sold and sends profits to local charities.

Loera hopes to increase his team’s shoe drives to a monthly occurrence, perhaps shifting to coats or boots in the winter months, he said.

“If anybody has connections or knows maybe other schools or other organizations or people that need shoes or has a need to fill, don’t ever hesitate to reach out and let us know,” Loera said. “Maybe it’s something we can help with.”