By Jennifer Eden
A group of excited children will be striding to start the school year in style following a kindness initiative that saw young kids at risk don squeaky new sneakers at Santa Monica’s Police Activities League (PAL) center Wednesday, Aug. 16.
The new shoes were made possible by non-profit Hav A Sole, founded by Rikki Mendias, who pays his good fortune forward, after receiving sneakers as a young kid when he had none.
Mendias attended PAL when he was a boy and began collecting sneakers as a teenager. One day he realized that he had a large shoe collection that was doing nothing but gathering dust, so decided to start sharing his wealth by giving it away to those in need.
Wednesday’s event was made possible by partners the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Committee. Hav A Sole accepts both new and gently used shoes from individuals. For more information head to: havasole.com.
