Shoes

As many of you may know, a former colleague at Calyon (nee Credit Lyonnais) named Bob has a son who plays high school soccer on Long Island, and he (Dean, the son) organized a soccer shoe drive at his end of season banquet. He was a victim of his own success, as they collected about 150 pair of gently used cleats. About 70 of them arrived in the mail or were carried back from the US by me. Today, Katherine and I went over to an organization called Hope's Promise, that runs after school activities for at-risk youth that includes, among other things, a soccer program. 99% of the kids who play on the teams play barefoot, so they were very excited at the prospect of soccer shoes.

Unfortunately, there were some kids who didn't get shoes today, because their sizes had all been given out, and one kid, who wasn't too big but for some reason had GIANT feet. They were all very gracious and now look forward to our next visit when the remaining shoes arrive and they get a second crack at it.

Trying on the shoes.


Proud owner of his first pair of soccer cleats.


Some of the guys that didn't get shoes today got t-shirts and hats that Dean included in a shipment. More shirts were requested, and I think Bob said that he and Dean had included more jersey-type shirts in the final shipment, so we will be able to deliver.


The kids were all very excited and very appreciative. Even the kids who didn't get shoes today (but hope for shoes in the near future) were thankful. After we go back with the rest of the shoes, we'll have to go watch a few games at the nearby football pitch (that's a soccer field to all you Americans).

Hopefully the initial success will spur Dean's team to collect even more shoes next season.