Holiday House holds shoe drive at Alta Vista Elementary School

By Ian Swaby
| 11:45 a.m. January 29, 2025

Kindergarteners Milan Brown and Calem Smith pose with their new shoes.

Sarasota
Neighbors

Holiday House SRQ is an organization founded on the opportunity for children at underserved schools to select Christmas presents for their families and themselves.

However, it's never too early in the year for a Christmas gift, especially when that gift is something highly needed.

The shoe drive at Alta Vista Elementary School, which the nonprofit helped restart last year and held this year on Jan. 28, covers every student in the school, said co-founder Sepi Ackerman.

At the other three schools the nonprofit currently serves — Wilkinson, Brentwood and Booker elementary schools — it has partnered with social workers to identify the need for shoes.

Principal Mindy Long said sneakers are expensive, and that many students have issues that affect their comfort and keep them out of activities like P.E.

"Sometimes the shoes are falling apart, sometimes they'll come in with older siblings' shoes so they'll be multiple sizes too big, or they can't really wear them at all," she said.

She said while agencies and community partners have been able to fill in gaps, "to be able to give the entire school brand new shoes is pretty incredible."

Fifth grader Aranza Benavides Sanchez said, "I really appreciate it, because these shoes can help me out for maybe even the next school year, and we don't have to buy any."

Ackerman calls the smiles on children's faces "the best part" of the experience.

"It's really all about promoting joy, which is tied back to our main objective of Holiday House SRQ, which is giving them empowerment and giving them joy," she said. "It feels really good to be able to play a small part in that."

Kindergartener Briseno-Juarez watches as Dawn Merila places his new shoes into a bag.

Tina Russell offers a high-five to kindergartener Leonardo Gomez-Flores as he walks away with a pair of shoes.

Kindergarteners Britthany Lopez Boza and Aylin Gallardo Aguilar receive their shoes.

Kidnergartener Salvador De La Cruz watches as kindergartener Juan Pabon Argote tries on a new pair of shoes.

Kindergartener Zoey Smith prepares to head out, with a bag containing her new shoes.

Kindergartener Daisy Castillo Ortiz receives a bag with her new shoes from Tina Russell.

Kindergartener Marley Bowman tries on a pair of new shoes.

Holiday House co-founder Jenni Infanti, Superintendent of Schools Terry Connor, Principal Mindy Long, and Holiday House co-founder Sepi Ackerman and board member Hilary Yunis stand beside the shoes set for distribution.

Tina Russell poses with Pre-K student Amari Price.

Kindergartener David Furlow receives a bag with his new shoes, from Dawn Merila.

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.