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SHOE-IN FOR SUCCESS
Milwaukee Journal, The, Apr 8, 1995 by Jean Pagel
Tags: Foot Locker, PRODUCTIVITY, teacher
Associated Press Writer
Lubbock, Texas Hillary Hutchinson wears proof of God's practical ways on his size 10 feet.
The sixth-grader picked out new zebra-striped Converse shoes as part of a reward Messiah Presbyterian Church extended to 54 model elementary students.
"I was looking for some basketball shoes," Hillary said. "They're good on the court."
But the shoes go far beyond footwear.
At Iles Elementary located in an impoverished neighborhood pockmarked by gangs and drug peddlers the shoes inject a sense of confidence and pride.
"It makes me feel good," Hillary said.
That's what the 20 members of Messiah Presbyterian hoped to hear when they launched "P.S. Go For It!." They hope teachers saying "P.S. Go For It!" in their classrooms will entice students to behave and work hard.
The program grew last summer from an East Lubbock meeting in which an Iles teacher explained how hoodlums turn high-dollar shoes into both status symbols and recruitment tools.
Attending the meeting was the Rev. Pam Powell, known as "Pastor Pam," who had been praying for a way her church Leg 1 ends here could deliver a unique and meaningful ministry to the nearby school.
It struck her that Messiah Presbyterian could counter the gangs and drugs by buying the athletic shoes for children who excelled.
The program debuted last month by awarding 54 certificates for shoes three in each of Iles' 18 classrooms to outstanding students, athletes and citizens. Teachers selected the winners. Winners then went shopping at Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker, the first trip some had ever made to the mall.
Fifty-four more pairs will be awarded next semester, with the total cost estimated at $11,000, all but $3,000 of which already has been raised.
Messiah Presbyterian sought money from its tiny membership, the Palo Duro Presbytery's Mission Task Group and the Health Ministries Group of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly. Discounts came from Foot Locker (15%) and Kids Foot Locker (25%).
Assistant Principal Judith Lampe said the program played on the emphasis adolescents place on appearance and peer acceptance.
"I just think it's real appropriate that it's shoes," Lampe said, "that you're going someplace."
Copyright 1995
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