Thanks to Payless Shoe Source and Helen Rickman of Fayette Holiday Helpers, 100 students in need of shoes on the CARE (Children at Risk in Education) Angel Tree will have their requests granted.

The Shoes 4 Kids program was initiated this year by Payless in response to the economic crisis, its impact on the underprivileged, the significant need across America for children’s shoes and to support smaller, localized nonprofits with a tool to assist them in helping those in need during the holiday season.

Fayette Holiday Helpers received 100 of the 67,000 gift coupons that were distributed nationwide. Each gift coupon is worth $15. Fayette Holiday Helpers, which assists with the CARE Angel Tree project each year, decided to donate all of the gift coupons to help fulfill the wishes of Fayette County’s public school students.

“We are so grateful to Payless Shoes Source and Holiday Helpers for this donation. We had just over 100 requests for shoes this year so this gift is very meaningful to us,” says Karen Spangler, the school system’s CARE coordinator.

A total of 16 schools from all areas of the county will receive the coupons for their Angel Tree participants.

The CARE Angel Tree project is designed to help working families struggling to make ends meet provide basic needs for their children. The tree fulfills nontraditional needs such as clothing, after school program scholarships, eyeglasses and dental work. All adults in the household must be employed in order for students to qualify for the program.

More than 2,600 nonprofits nationwide applied to receive the Payless gift coupons. Holiday Helpers was among the 630 nonprofit agencies selected in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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