Kind sole: El Paso teen donates $25K to buy shoes for kids
When Drew Frank asked for cash donations at his bar mitzvah, he had a plan in mind.
A shoe collector himself, the El Paso teenager wanted a way to give back. With the help of his parents, Dana and Adam Frank, he founded the “Drew’s Sneaker Give-Away.” The family even added a slogan of #JustDrewIt.
Raising around $25,000 through his bar mitzvah gifts, the teen bought about 800 pairs of Nikes, according to USA Today.
Thanks to a generous donation from St Clements 8th grader every student at Beall received a new pair of @Nike shoes today! @BStrongRunWalk pic.twitter.com/6Ioh2w0OSm
— EPISD (@ELPASO_ISD) November 7, 2016
“I’ve always liked sneakers, especially basketball shoes, since I was young,” Drew Frank told El Paso Inc. newspaper. “Then I became interested in other kinds of sneakers and wearing shoes in different styles.”
The family partnered with the Braden Aboud Foundation to donate more than half of the shoes to an area elementary school. The rest will go to an orphanage and a center for woman and children.
“Every year, we wonder if we could go with a lower-end shoe,” foundation volunteer Amy Marcus told El Paso Inc. “But there’s something special about Nike – and the kids deserve something special.”
Founder Cindi Aboud told USA Today that this is the organization’s first time to team up with a single person.
“I’m giving sneakers to these kids who may otherwise not have new sneakers,” Drew Frank told USA Today. “They just get shoes that have been passed down from generation to generation. I just wanted to give back to these kids who are less fortunate than me.”
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This story was originally published November 27, 2016 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Kind sole: El Paso teen donates $$25K to buy shoes for kids."