RICHMOND, Va. -- A special Christmas gift for more than 100 people in our community who are trying to get their lives back on track.
"Today we'll put 130 pairs of shoes on the men and women here at Caritas," Robin Telfian said. "We basically set up mini shoe stores."
Telfian founded Shood, a Richmond-area non-profit that provides sneakers to people in need.
"Having a pair of shoes is just a part of dignity, and everyone deserves a great pair of shoes," she said.
Shood partnered with Caritas this Christmas.
Caritas is a center that serves those struggling with addiction or homelessness.
Their combined goal was to bring dignity to people who need some holiday hope.
"I'm an old ex-Navy guy, so my feet have a lot of corns and bunions on them," Raymond Kenney said.
Kenney lives on a fixed income and is currently on a journey of healing at Caritas.
"I have my clean date which is 8-30-21, so I'm coming on four months clean," he said.
He was able to celebrate the milestone in style.
"They're soft and comfortable," he said of his new shoes. "They don't even feel like I got shoes on. And that helps for the pain when I'm walking."
Jeff Wells knows all about the importance of comfortable footwear. The owner of fleet feet supplies a lot of these shoes donated for the giveaway.
Shood's mission will continue next year. They'll be back at Caritas in the Spring helping runners get ready for the 2022 Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k.
