Published August 10, 2017 14:19
Source http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2017/08/10/step-into-an-athlete-s-shoes-canada-games-teams-donate-sneakers-to-winnipeg-kids.html
More than 400 kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg are getting new kicks courtesy of Canada Games athletes.
Athletes from teams BC, Ontario, Alberta and Nunavut worked together to collect shoe donations for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg for the Leave Your Tracks legacy program.
Feranmi, 15, was given a pair of red Nikes from Team Ontario’s Nick Snow.
“I’m not going to wear them outside — just on the court. I’m going to keep them nice,” said Feranmi, whose last name is withheld because he's a participant in the Boys and Girls Clubs.
The teen has been playing basketball since Grade 5, “but then in Grade 8 I knew that I could actually develop my game. I’m hoping to play on a provincial team.”
The call for donated shoes ranged from size three all the way up to 17, and the athletes were able to collect more than 400 pairs.
“It’s a really different experience to carry boxes of shoes versus seeing the kids try on shoes. And you see the smiles on their faces, and they’re like, ‘these are my shoes,’” Snow said.
The remaining sneakers will be distributed over the course of a few weeks to clubs across Winnipeg.