Sneaker stampede: 18 wheels, one thousand heels

What has 18 wheels and 1,000 sneakers? On Nov. 14, it was a tractor-trailer pulling up to Clothing Our Kids’ warehouse in Millsboro.

Clothing Our Kids is a nonprofit that distributes new clothing – shirts, pants, shoes, coats and more – to students in need at all Sussex County schools, from pre-K to high school.

Teachers and counselors submit orders for the students whom they identify as being in need.

“After funds for shelter, funds for food through food banks, [schools] don’t have funds for this. That’s where we come in,” said Bob Blouin, Clothing Our Kids president.

An army of volunteers came to unload the truck and sort the shoes.

Some of the sneakers are already designated to go to homeless students and students below the poverty line in various schools.

One thousand pairs of sneakers will last until the end of the school year, according to Blouin.

The truckload of shoes was made possible by a grant from Shoes That Fit, a nonprofit in California. The organization’s website says it has donated 3.5 million athletic shoes to children in need in 50 states and the District of Columbia since 1992.

“Shoes are obviously a big, expensive item, so the fact that we can get these donated to us is a huge benefit,” said Merrill Cohen, director of the Clothing Our Kids executive committee.

Blouin said the shipment would retail at $50,000.

Clothing Our Kids is seeing a greater need for donations this school year, especially since it’s added more high schools.

“The cost of clothing has gone up, [as well as] the number of units and price per unit. The older the kids, the more expensive the clothes,” said Mike Wezel, Clothing Our Kids treasurer.

For more information, go to clothingourkids.org.