HARTSVILLE, S.C. – For the second year in a row, the Rotary Club of Hartsville recently hosted Darlington County School District students at the Shoe Show and purchased each student a brand new pair of shoes – 100 pairs to be exact.
That's far more than the Rotary Club could fund last year. The two-day “Happy Feet” event was certainly welcomed by the students, who came from several schools in the Hartsville area. The partnership with the Shoe Show is also in its second year.
Charles Saverance, president of the Rotary Club of Hartsville, said the group’s members thoroughly enjoy working to help the community.
“The Rotary Club of Hartsville adopted ‘Happy Feet’ as our Signature Project in 2018,” Saverance said. “Seeing children take off their shoes, which may be a couple of sizes too small or that may have holes in them, and watching them walk out of the store with a brand new pair makes it all worthwhile. Sometimes this is the first new pair of shoes they have ever owned. Rotary Club exists to do good in the world, and that always starts at home.”
Student volunteers from Hartsville High School (HHS), who are members of Ready 2 Interact (R2I), also helped out with the event. R2I is the Rotary Club’s branch organization at the high school. R2I members guided the younger students around to try on different pairs of shoes and helped them check out.
Cierra Hillian, president of R2I and a senior at HHS, said helping other Darlington County School District students proved rewarding.
“Happy Feet is such a wonderful opportunity that R2I looks forward to each year,” Hillian said. “It is such a fun and heartwarming chance to be able to help children find a pair of shoes. For many, it is just a simple part of life to get a new pair of shoes, but to other it can mean the world. We are so thankful to be a part of that.”