For Trudy Schug, the gut-check moment came when, as a P.E. teacher in the Kent School District, she gave a pair of athletic shoes to one of her students.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe started crying and said, \u2018My mom is going to be so proud. Between you and the homeless shelter I am so blessed,\u2019\u201d Schug said of the student, whom she knew from classes at Neely O\u2019Brien Elementary, and who was actually wearing her grandfather\u2019s shoes, because she had none of her own.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose words changed my life,\u201d Schug said.<\/p>\n
Today, Schug is known as \u201cthe shoe fairy\u201d to the students she teaches in the Kent schools. That\u2019s because she puts her other job – as a grassroots marketing director for Roadrunner Sports at Kent Station – to good use, creating a pipeline for the store\u2019s donated-shoe program to students who otherwise couldn\u2019t afford them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s turned into my little side project,\u201d Schug said. \u201cAt our stores, people will donate their used shoes. For a runner who does 500 miles on a treadmill, they may seem run down, but for a child with holes in their shoes, they\u2019re good. They\u2019re such good-quality shoes, they really do feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest moment came in March, when she worked with Roadrunner to gift Scenic Hill Elementary\u2019s track team with 80 pairs of running shoes.<\/p>\n
Schug said it was a combination of need, as well as acknowledging the big heart of the school\u2019s track coach, Mike Carney, who she said works tirelessly to help his young athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is just one of those above-and-beyond guys,\u201d Schug said. \u201cI thought,\u2019wow, If I can do this for one school\u2019s track program, it\u2019d be this one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Carney was equally effusive in his praise for Schug and the shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an amazing, positive experience for our kids,\u201d Carney said. \u201cA lot of our kids come from situations that make it difficult to provide new shoes. The excitement on their faces when they received those shoes was just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carney noted Schug\u2019s gesture also played into the message educators at Scenic Hill are trying to impress into their young charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to experience that – the experience of gift-giving, and helping others in the community. They really take that to heart,\u201d he said of his students.<\/p>\n
Early on, when Schug decided she needed to acquire that many used shoes, she posted her request to the management of Roadrunners. To her surprise, she got an e-mail back from the corporation\u2019s Director of Retail Operations Chuck Abood, telling her he was rounding up 50 pairs of brand-new shoes to add to the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did it as a gift,\u201d Schug said, expressing her surprise at the generosity. \u201cHe gave me last year\u2019s clearance colors. Fifty pairs were new, and the rest looked brand new. I didn\u2019t have to do any cleaning up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the arrival of the shoes, Schug and one of the management of Roadrunner Sports went to Scenic Hill March 2 and presented the whole track team with their new shoes. The youngsters were elated to be getting such snazzy footwear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all jumped up – they were cheering,\u201d Schug said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven our employees donated their once-worns,\u201d Schug said of the Roadrunner crew.<\/p>\n
Today, too, Schug said she\u2019s elated to see the response she\u2019s still getting from the young athletes, whenever they see her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey run up and say \u2018thank you so much,\u2019\u201d Schug said.<\/p>\n
The team also created a large, hand-written thank-you card, which Schug has hung proudly in the Kent Station Roadrunner store.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
HELP MORE<\/p>\n
\u2018Shoe Fairy\u2019 Trudy Schug is continuing to take donated shoes from the community for others in need, including student athletes in different schools and community organizations that serve those in need, such as women\u2019s shelters. To learn more about the program Schug is involved with through Roadrunner Sports, or to donate used, adult-sized running shoes, contact Schug via e-mail at tschug@roadrunnersports.com.<\/p>\n
Carney is attempting to collect lightly used running shoes in children\u2019s sizes for several more of his track athletes. Contact Carney at michael.carney@kent.k12.wa.us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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