Brett finds perfect match for returned shoes

When Nelson Shoe Clinic owner Brett Meehan read about students looking for shoes for underprivileged youth, he knew he had found the perfect match.

Nelson Intermediate students Aryan Pradhan and Meh Mo have been on the hunt for unused shoes as part of the national ‘lazy sneakers’ initiative.

The programme pairs sneakers no longer being used with a young person eager to fill them.

The Shoe Clinic has a 30-day money back guarantee for customers who bought shoes that do not quite fit properly. This means Brett is often inundated with slightly-used shoes, unable to be resold.

So, in a bid to ease hardships for local athletes, Brett opted to donate 45 pairs of quality shoes to the school. This has brought the total able to be dispensed into the community to almost 200 pairs.

Brett says it is unfortunately all too common that families are unable to afford proper footwear. The Shoe Clinic has previously had relationships with Kids Can and Walk with Us.

“We saw this as a pretty worthy cause.”

Brett says there were some “pretty wild smiles” as he arrived at the school with two boxes filled with shoes.

“I think it is going to make a difference to a lot of families, which is really nice to see.”

Brett congratulated Meh Mo and Aryan for helping promote a real community need.

Today will see the first sneaker drop by the school where youths can come and select a pair of sneakers for themselves.

Teacher Tony Jenkins was delighted by the donation and says, all going well, the initiative will be introduced in other schools in the region.

If you have sneakers you no longer use, please consider a donation to Room 14 at Nelson Intermediate.