- April 19, 2024
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Kaila Dalton was among the many volunteers from Embry-Riddle who served as personal shoppers for the students (Photos by Emily Blackwood).
Volunteer Ervin Ross and JCPenney Associate Naimah Latson helped a little boy find the perfect pair of shoes.
Over 120 kids received uniforms, jackets and shoes from the Junior League's annual event.
Chris Medina and Luke Helms assisted one little girl in finding clothes for school.
Volunteers for the event included members from the Junior League of Daytona Beach.
Standing tall in their Embry-Riddle Eagles Baseball shirts, Chris Medina and Luke Helms sorted through a pile of clothes in the last place you’d expect to see them shopping: the girls' section of JCPenney.
Crouching down next to a small girl with blonde hair and scuffed pink shoes, the two young men helped her determine which shirt would best match a pair of black and gray leopard-print pants. Though they may not have had the best sense of style for an elementary school girl, they gave it their best shot in an effort to give something back — and to make her smile.
A part of the Junior League of Daytona Beach’s Best Foot Forward event, Medina and Helms were among the 300 volunteers from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Bethune Cookman and Daytona State College students who volunteered to be personal shoppers for 128 Title I Elementary School children.
The students not only had a chance to walk around the store with their shoppers, but also received a backpack prior to the event filled with four uniform shirts, socks, underwear, school supplies and a dental kit.
JLDB President and Ormond Beach resident Amy Steedley became teary-eyed when she said that most of the students who attend have never owned a new pair of shoes.
“A lot of them have never had anything that wasn’t a hand-me-down,” she said. “This is a really big deal. Some of them are homeless. Voluisa is a very poor county, and not a lot of people realize that.”
Steedley said the league spends about $19,000 a year to put on the event, which gives each student $130 to spend on clothes. The personal shoppers make sure they get uniform pants, "free day" clothes, a jacket and a new pair of shoes. They also supply a pizza party.
“Every year they ask if they can come home with me," Steedley said. "It tears you up because you know they didn’t do anything to deserve being in this situation.”
For more information on the Junior League of Daytona Beach, visit jldb.org.
