The Orange Bowl Committee, a non-profit sports organization that serves South Florida, in partnership with TD Bank, worked with local schools to collect over 1,300 pair of shoes. Their Kicks for Kids program, (not to be confused with the Kicks 4 Kids. Foundation) has been around since 2011 and is “a program designed to provide South Florida’s underserved youth the opportunity to participate in a reap the rewards of sports and exercise by receiving a pair of good athletic shoes.”
Schools in The Miami-Dade and Broward County area collect shoes and the top three collecting schools in each county receive donations of $1,000 for the first place school, $750 for second place and a $250 gift card to ACE Educational Supplies. The top collecting shoes in Miami-DadeCounty were Eugene B. Thomas K-8 Center, Dr. William Chapman Elementary, and Norma B. Bossard Elementary, respectively. In Broward County the top three schools were Panther Run Elementary, Bayview Elementary and Sea Castle Elementary.
The shoes were distributed to the children in a “shopping” experience at the Orange Bowl Kicks for Kids “store” yesterday at Broward location of Kids in Distress.
Orange Bowl Committee President and Chair Sean Pittman had this to say about the program:
The Orange Bowl Kicks for Kids program is very special. Participation in sports and exercise is important for our South Florida youth and having the proper shoes to participate in those activities is equally as important; and the Kicks for Kids program offers that to these kids.
Local charity In Jacob’s Shoes cleaned and restored the gently worn shoe donations, as they have for the past six years. For their efforts, they received a monetary contribution , a portion of the shoes donated and a plaque of appreciation for their assistance.
If you would like more information on the Orange Bowl Kicks for Kids program, visit orangebowl.org.
