SUDBURY -- A new community shoe drive is working to provide new footwear to people in Sudbury most in need.
BioPed, a shoe store located in Sudbury's south end, is working with Tomorrow's Hope, a charity spearheaded by activist Bob Johnston that has been working on behalf of the homeless.
"This is just fantastic," Johnston said. "It's Christmas in May! I'm so glad Bioped could step up to the plate for us."
Wednesday was the first and main in-person drop-off for the drive, which will take community donations in order to provide new footwear and socks to the homeless.
"With any of the gently worn shoes that we are collecting today, we're going to actually be able to turn those into brand new pairs of shoes also for the homeless," said Kyla Rouleau, owner and general manager of BioPed. "So we're going to be able to kind of look after putting a pair on everybody here in Sudbury that are homeless."
While holding drives is nothing new for BioPed, this is the first time the shoe store has partnered up with Tomorrow's Hope.
"We have done this with the homeless in the past here in Sudbury, so it was another reason to give back here locally because there is such a need for them right now," Rouleau said.
Johnston, who has been working on a variety of initiatives to benefit the homeless during the pandemic, said new shoes mean a lot to people who have so little.
"Oh these new shoes, right off the bat when they get their feet fitted for the first time, new socks, new shoes -- their self-esteem, their emotions and everything is going to build right up and it's going to be a chain reaction," he said.
More potential dates for organized drop-offs at BioPed will be arranged based on demand.
