Texas teen spent $25,000 to buy shoes and socks for 800 children.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – A teenager from El Paso decided to use the bar mitzvah money to buy socks and sneakers and donate them to an elementary school.
Drew Frank thought that it would be nice to give back, so instead of accepting gifts at his bar mitzvah, he developed his own fundraising project called “Drew’s Sneaker Give-Away.” The 13-year-old boy raised roughly $25,000, money which he used to purchase 800 pairs of socks as well as 800 pairs of brand new Nike sneakers.
The items were donated to a local school and an orphanage. More precisely, the Texas teen together with his parents joined their efforts with the Braden Aboud Foundation, which helped them purchase and deliver 400 sneakers and socks for the children at Beall Elementary School, and 400 for those at the YWCA orphanage and transitional living center for children and women.
Frank said that he wanted to give the shoes to those kids because they might not afford to buy new ones. They usually get old shoes as charity from other people. Although this is also a nice gesture, the boy thought that it would be even nicer if the children received brand new sneakers and socks.
The El Paso boy decided to turn his bar mitzvah into a fundraiser because he wanted to bring his contribution to the community. Bar mitzvah is a ceremony belonging to the Jewish culture and tradition.
This ceremony marks the transition from childhood to maturity. Many people said that the teenager’s noble gesture was more than mature. Frank confessed that he decided to buy sneakers because he was passionate about them.
The Braden Aboud Foundation is a non-profit organization which has developed various projects to help the children living in El Paso. That is why the boy and his parents thought that it would be the best idea to work with the Braden Foundation.
The organization initially intended to buy more affordable sneakers, but they said that Nike was a widely-popular brand, so they decided to stick to it. According to Amy Marcus, one of the foundation volunteers, Nike is a more special brand, so kids will feel better knowing that they have Nike sneakers.
Cindy Aboud, the organization’s founder, says that it would be great if the foundation were sponsored one day by a popular shoe retailer, such as Nike. This way, they will be able to buy shoes for more children.
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