Lake Club Women's Giving Circle proves its sneaker drive is a great fit

Of the 550 pairs of new sneakers collected by the Lake Club Women's Giving Circle, most of them were spread out over the floor in a room at The Twig in East County.

The Twig Executive Director Nicole Britton looked over the donation to her nonprofit and smiled.

"This will sustain us for the year," Britton said.

The Lake Club Women's Giving Circle collected the sneakers and socks during its Sneakin’ Back to School Sneaker Drive, the fourth year the group has held the event to benefit The Twig, which has a mission of "Helping every child in foster care know they matter by providing trendy, upscale boutiques where they can shop free of charge."

On July 17, The Twig opened its doors on a day it normally would be closed to celebrate the donation with members of the Lake Club Women's Giving Circle.

Fruit and snacks lined the counter and champagne flowed. Giving circle members were given a tour of the store. Everyone was smiling.

"There is so much joy here today," Britton said. "They know they are making a difference, and that brings joy to them."

Britton said the awareness produced by their sneaker drive is just about as important as the donation itself.

"People don't realize there are foster kids here locally," she said. "Oh my gosh, we couldn't do it without them."

Photo by Jay Heater

Lake Club Women's Giving Circle member Renee Wilson told her story of how the word spreads. She said her grandchildren, ages 10 and 13, were visiting her a couple of weeks ago and she told them how she was working to provide the sneakers. They wanted to do something to help, so she took them to the DSW store and had them pick out a pair of sneakers that they would like. Those sneakers were then donated.

"It makes you feel better when you give," Wilson said.

Foster families come to The Twig on Saturdays and the foster children are allowed to pick seven articles of clothing. The giving circle's sneaker drive will allow those children to have new sneakers on the first day of the new school year.

Britton said The Twig serves 200 kids every month in the Lakewood Ranch area alone. The foster kids are asked questions about what kind of items they want and then The Twig's staff does its best to fulfill those requests.

The Lake Club Women's Giving Circle collected 300 pairs of sneakers in the first three years of the drive. This year they raised the goal to 400 pairs, and they exceeded their expectations. Joy Stone was the chair of this year's drive.The group was established in 2014 and has 90 members.