Clarkston Rotarian Joel DeLong, with a few of the 1,400 pairs of shoes needed for the annual Shoes for Kids program. Photo by Phil Custodio

BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
Goodfellow newspapers are on sale next weekend, hawked by volunteers downtown and in the community.
The annual Clarkston Rotary fund raiser will be on Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Neiman’s Market, Main and Washington streets, and other intersections.
Donations raised go to the Rotary’s annual Shoes for Kids program, which will provide about 1,400 pairs of shoes to 402 kids this year.
“That’s 35 kids every half hour,” said Joel DeLong, Shoes for Kids chair. “It’s due to the commitment of the community, we’re able to sustain this.”
In his 21 years as chair, Shoes for Kids has provided shoes, boots, hats, gloves, and other supplies to about 8,500 local children, supported by more than a quarter million in donations, trusts, and endowments, DeLong said.
“It’s been fun. My wife and I, our two daughters and grandson are all fully immersed in it, and the club fully supports it,” DeLong said.
They buy the items at Kohl’s, Dunhams, Payless, Meijer, Kmart, and other stores, many at a discount.
About 120 volunteers will spread out through the community to sell the Goodfellow newspapers, prepared and printed by Clarkston News publisher Jim Sherman, Jr., and Don Rush, assistant publisher.
“The City of the Village of Clarkston donates use of the DPW garage for the newspaper sale,” DeLong said.
About 200 volunteers will gather at the Shoes for Kids distribution to the children, Dec. 8 at Oakland Woods Baptist Church in Independence Township.
“We couldn’t do it without their facility,” he said.
Union Joints, Brioni, Tim Hortons, Neiman’s Family Market, Hungry Howie’s and other local restaurants support the effort with food for volunteers.
Social workers with Lighthouse and Clarkston Community Schools, along with administration, teachers, and staff, also support the program.
Clarkston Optimists will be on hand to distribute Opti-Socks, Clarkston Area Lions Club will provide free eye exams, Mark Kelly of MPK Photo will provide free photos with Santa, and local dentists will donate tooth brushes and toothpaste.
“The community wants to give back and support each other,” DeLong said. “The first day the Sign Up Genius was set up, a quarter of the volunteer positions were filled. That speaks volumes.”
Shoes for Kids has been the Clarkston Rotary’s signature community service project for almost 40 years, and Rotary has raised funds for the community through its Goodfellow newspapers since the 1940s.
For more information, call Delong at 248-625-9741, or go to www.clarkstonrotary.org.

  Clarkston Rotary