Program puts new shoes on feet of Valley youth in need

Sometimes it’s the simple things that can make a big difference.

Eight years ago, a group of community-minded people from Northgate Alaska Church in Wasilla got together to brainstorm about what they could do to make a local impact. The outcome was the I Am Somebody initiative, which puts shoes on the feet of Mat-Su children.

Program administrator and church member Amberly Breja said the central question when thinking about what service the group could provide was “if we were to do something powerful in the community, what could it be?”

They approached stakeholders in the area, including the Mat-Su Borough School District and the Mat-Su Health Foundation. It was school district officials who suggested a shoe giveaway.

Breja said the program launched blind, without a lot of time lost calculating the perfect way to make it happen. Used shoes donated by the community supplied the inventory.

That filled a basic need, but it was eventually determined that giving away new shoes provided underserved children something else important — dignity.

“It tells kids they are valuable,” Breja said. “And there is a huge need for this.”

The decision to give away new shoes, added significant expense to Northgate’s effort. So new partners were approached. Nordstrom Rack and others chipped in with discounted shoes. The Mat-Su Seahawkers, a local nonprofit group of Seattle Seahawks fans dedicated to supporting and uplifting Valley youth, stepped in to help, too. They enlisted the support of Nike to get cut-rate shoes. The group also supplies cash donations raised from their annual Kicks4Kids shoe fundraiser.

The Mat-Su Health Foundation, already aware of Northgate’s efforts, got on board, as well.

“The Health Foundation saw what we were doing and wanted to help,” Breja said. “They’ve done massive grants over the years to help us buy shoes.”

Most recently, a $50,000 grant awarded to Northgate in May helps the I Am Somebody initiative provide shoes and socks to children who need them, but whose families cannot afford them.

The nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation has been making this kind of investment in community health and wellness since 2007, when it was formed and became part owner of the then-new Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Since that time, the Health Foundation has returned more than $140 million of its share of hospital profits to the community in the form of scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to other nonprofits across the borough, while working to ensure that the hospital continues to meet the needs of a growing community.

Breja said the assistance provided over the years has been invaluable to helping the I Am Somebody shoe giveaway become successful.

“The Mat-Su Health Foundation advised us and helped us understand how to do community service,” she said. “Because they chose to foster us, we became an asset to the community. They literally taught us how to dream big for the community and help.”

The application period for families who would like to participate in the shoe giveaway begins in mid-June each year. The actual giveaway happens the first week of August, to coincide with the start of the school year.

FIND OUT MORE

https://www.northgatealaska.com/iamsomebody