Girl, 7, collecting shoes for those in need

ST. CLOUD, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A 7-year-old Osceola County girl and her family are collecting shoes for people can’t afford them.

The effort has been named "Anaya’s Shoebox.”   Her family says it all started when Anaya realized one of her friends was in need. 

“I noticed his shoes were broken,” Anaya said. “He said, ‘These are the only shoes I have.’” 

So she asked her dad to buy the boy a new pair of shoes and he did. 

“He was happy and surprised of course,” Dailey said about Anaya’s friend. “That’s not a usual gift you give to someone. There was another little boy there saying – ‘Oh man, I wish I had a pair too.’”

Dailey says that’s when she decided they should start a collection. In about four months, they’ve gotten around 120 pairs of shoes, new and used, of all sizes.   The goal for the summer is to get enough shoes to help the kids who need them in Anaya’s school, Narcoossee Elementary, before classes start. But they don’t plan on stopping there. 

“If we can reach the community, even better. If we can reach other states. That would be great too. Hey, why not? Were gonna run with it and see what happens,” Dailey said. 

The family says donations can be dropped at: Narcoossee Community Elementary School, St. Cloud Kings Youth Basketball Org., Big City Barbers Inc., Metro West Fit Body Boot Camp and Barbers 78.