On January 28, Wellington Republican Club President Joe Wolff met with Principal Mike Lastra at Eastside Elementary School to pledge $2,000 towards their upcoming “Shoe Fairy” program. This money is going to those children who were affected by last year’s hurricanes and are in need of new sneakers.
With all of the other critical materials that needed replenishing following the storms, it can be easy to forget other necessities like shoes, which can affect children’s health and morale. Thanks to Mr. Wolff’s generosity, the school is looking to sponsor 90 students who are currently enrolled in their weekend food assistance program.
The idea for a shoe fairy fund came about earlier in January during a conversation between Mr. Lastra and Eastside Social Worker Vikki Seifried, who has been “the point person” regarding these funds, Lastra noted.
“We noticed a lot of those kids that have been affected do not have very good shoes that they are wearing to school every single day,” Dr. Lastra added.
The staff had already done something similar to this last year thanks to a separate benefactor, and Seifried’s favorite part was personally giving shoes to a pair of children. “The smiles on their faces was greater than any gift you could have given them,” she said.
This year, Mr. Wolff’s contribution came about during an inauguration party at his residence. The generous president of the Wellington Republican Club requested each of his 54 guests bring a check (written out to Eastside) to the party instead of a customary dish.
A speech by Schoolboard member Mark Johnson at the gathering helped inspire attendees to donate as well. This resulted in the $2,000 that will go towards adorning the feet of nearly 100 children with brand-new sneakers.
This effort is in addition to their previous aid directly following the hurricanes. This saw Mr. Wolff gather $750 from his organization and Mr. Johnson raise $3,350 from the Timber Pines Republican Club.
These funds went towards providing disaster relief up until the new year. The school rolled out the assistance in three phases: post-storm, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
The first of these saw Lastra and company covering “that short-term need of immediate clothing, foods, all that type of stuff,” said the principal. For the second phase, “we wanted to be able to give all those families what they needed.”
As a result, the staff was able to help more than 30 families to have a full Thanksgiving dinner. Due to many still living in hotels at the time, the school offered a drive-through service so people could come and pick up their meals.
“Thanks to the incredible support of our community,” noted Seifried, the school’s Christmas program was able to sponsor 157 children, 93 of which were Eastside Elementary students. 55 families had a happier holiday season thanks to the school and other groups such as American Legion Post #186 and Operation Heart F.E.L.T. among others.
Moving forward, Dr. Lastra is also working on coordinating a breakfast in the first two weeks of February to thank the donors for all of their assistance. Anyone else who wishes to help the school with this or other programs can write out a check to Eastside Elementary at 27151 Roper Road, Brooksville, Florida 34602.
