Free shoes for offered for York children in need – and schools can help

York Vikings Rotary and two businesses are putting their best foot forward to help some of the neediest children in the community this winter and beyond.

Schools also being asked to help out in a campaign to make sure that children from some of York’s poorest families have a decent pair of shoes to get to school, however bad the weather.

The club, Stuart Paver from shoe retailer Pavers and Chris Greenall from PIB Insurance Brokers have provided £20,000 worth of shoes for children from families who are struggling to cope in the face of the cost of living crisis. 

They have teamed up with Door 84, the youth and community hub, who have already distributed shoes to over 50 children in need from schools across the city in the run up to Christmas.

The ‘best foot forward’ initiative is in response to the pressure under which families are struggling to feed and clothe their children and keep them warm as cost-pressures mount.

Viking Rotary’s Mick Fox said: “We know that many families are faced with stark choices – do they put the heating on or feed their kids?

“Often things like warm clothes and good winter shoes are simply luxuries they can’t afford.

“So, along with Chris Greenall from local company PIB, we have teamed up with York footwear business Stuart Paver from Pavers to buy £20,000 worth of good quality shoes in a wide range of sizes and styles to distribute via schools, to those children who most need them.” 

The next step is to involve schools, he said. “Together with PIB and Pavers we are now asking headteachers and class teachers of primary and junior school children to contact Door 84 direct to ensure that the children who most need them get shoes this year. 

“We understand the need for sensitivity and discretion and that is where we know schools are so well equipped to help.”