So far, Rotrarian Joel DeLong has collected 120 pairs of shoes and boots for the Rotary Club’s Shoes for Kids program. But more is needed.
‘That’s about one-tenth of what we need,? said DeLong.
He estimates that 515 children will need the shoes, boots, hats, and mittens offered that day, so about 1,030 pairs of boots and shoes will be needed.
‘I’d like people to understand the magnitude of this project,? he said.
Five years ago, the project helped about 200 local children in need. Two years ago, that number had grown to 440.
To raise funds for the project, Rotarians will be selling copies of the Clarkston Rotary Club’s Goodfellow Edition. The newspaper, printed by Sherman Publications, includes stories about the club’s activities, projects, and programs over the past year. It has been published every year by the Sherman company, which also publishes the Clarkston News, for its entire 56-year run.
‘It talks about all the things the Rotary does and is involved with,? said Don Rush, assistant publisher for Sherman Publications.
Bill Stamp, publisher of the Clarkston News in 1950, was a charter member of the Rotary Club.
‘We donate this to the Rotary, and the proceeds are used for Shoes for Kids,? Rush said.
Proceeds from the Goodfellow Edition have been used for Shoes for Kids for all of its 37 year history,and before that for Christmas food baskets and other projects, DeLong said.
About 150 volunteers, including members of the Rotary, Clarkston Teachers Union, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, Oakland Woods Baptist Church, Independence Township Senior Center, and Lions Club, as well as friends and family, will help out during the fund raiser, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2.
They will be offering the papers in exchange for donations at Bordine Nursery on Dixie Highway just north of I-75, and the three Kroger stores on Dixie Highway, at Sashabaw, Davisburg, and Maybee. Volunteers will also put on Santa hats and safety vests to sell the papers in the intersections of Maybee and Sashabaw, Maybee and Dixie, and in downtown Clarkston.
The club is still recruiting volunteers to help with the fund raiser, DeLong said.
The Rotary will need about $23,000 for the project, and expect to collect about $12,000 during the Goodfellow sale. Donations have also been collected by local school children, who put up hat and mitten trees in their school hallways, churchs, the township Parks and Recreation Department, and local businesses.
‘We couldn’t do this if it weren’t for the support of the community,? DeLong said. ‘They help offset the expense of the program.?
Funds raised will immediately be used to purchase items needed for the Shoes for Kids distribution, which will be the next weekend, on Saturday, Dec. 9, at Oakland Woods Baptist Church, 5628 Maybee Road. Recipients receive letters listing their appointment times.
‘It will be a long, full week,? DeLong said.
Recipients in the Shoes for Kids program all meet local and meet federal requirements. They are selected through the efforts of social workers at Clarkston Community Schools and Lighthouse North.
Volunteers on Shoes for Kids day will serve about 70 children every hour, fitting them for shoes and boots at that location. If the proper size is not found, the child will receive a gift certificate to Mr. Alan’s shoe store.
This is the sixth year DeLong has organized the Shoes for Kids project, and about the 11th he has been involved with it.
‘My family has supported my commitment ? we enjoy doing it,? he said.