Love in shoes

Christina Zdanowicz

When people are homeless or trying to recover from a natural disaster, they are in need of a lot of the basic life necessities that many of us take for granted.While people are often encouraged to donate canned goods,not everyone is thinking about things like shoes.

Of course, you can't go to look for a new job or a home, if you have no shoes to walk in. One woman in Hays, Kansas took this into consideration, and found a way to help hun⁃dreds of people.

At that time, payless stores were going out of business, and shoes were selling for as little as$1 per pair,so a woman named Addy Tritt bought out all the remaining shoes at the Hays payless store—more than 200 pairs—and donated them to flood victims in Nebraska.

Those shoes were then included in a flood relief shipment taken to farmers in Ne⁃braska by Fort Hays State University (FHSU). Tritt, who recently graduated from FHSU's human resources program, wanted to pay it forward.“I have been so lucky. There have been so many great people in my life who have inspired me.I see so many terrible things in the news.So many people helped me when I was down.They influenced me so much that I want to help if I can.”

Tritt has a history of charitable acts.She has donated more than 60 bags of school sup⁃plies to Hays students,and organized a baby clothes drive and two supply drives for an ani⁃mal shelter.

“I really feel I have been directed and guided to help people,”she said.“If you can do something for someone else,you need to find a way even if it is a pair of shoes.”

Reading Check

Why did Addy Tritt buy out all the remaining shoes at the Hays payless store?__

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