Lafayette Elementary Gets a Visit from GEICO Cares and Shoes That Fit
Every student went home with a new pair of shoes.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Every student at Fredericksburg City’s Lafayette Elementary School went home today with a new pair of sneakers, thanks to a partnership between GEICO and the nonprofit organization Shoes That Fit.
“I measured 600 pairs of feet this year,” said Danielle Livingston, school counselor at Lafayette Elementary. “Every baby in the school is getting a new pair of shoes today—and we’re going to do another order for any new students who came since the beginning of the year.”
Mac Stephens, director of social impact and philanthropy for GEICO Cares, said the company began partnering with Shoes That Fit in 2021.
“After the pandemic, teachers and counselors were letting us know that students were coming back to school with a lot of needs,” Stephens said. “Since then, we have donated 38,000 pairs of shoes across the U.S to schools in need.”
Worn or ill-fitting shoes are one of the most visible signs of poverty, Stephens said. A new pair of shoes can eliminate that stigma.
“When kids have new shoes, they play more and can concentrate more on learning,” he said.
Livingston used to work with Stephens at GEICO. When the two caught up earlier this year, Livingston talked about some of the need she saw among Lafayette students.
“He said, ‘Well, how about we give each kid a new pair of shoes?’” she recalled. “I was shocked—I mean, who does that? GEICO does.”
On Thursday morning, Lafayette students gathered by grade level groups in the cafeteria to get hyped up for their new shoes by principal Jacinta Calzada-Mayronne, the Lafayette Lion, the GEICO Gecko, GEICO employee volunteers, and volunteers with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority—which participated in the event by giving out toothbrushes and toothpaste.
“Delta Sigma Theta is an organization of 350,000 college-educated women, and service is at the heart of our organization,” said Ritta Armstead, president of the Fredericksburg-Area Alumnae Chapter. “Seeing the smiles of the kids here today blesses our hearts. We’re thankful that we got asked to be a part of this event to help the families.”
For Stephens, the new pair of shoes and dental hygiene products aren’t the only takeaways from Thursday’s event.
“With all these volunteers coming out to help, the kids get to see what a healthy community looks like,” he said.
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