'Shoes for Students' Event Planned For Palm Springs School District

PALM SPRINGS, CA — More than 900 Palm Springs Unified School District students and their families are expected Wednesday evening at an event offering new shoes and other community resources to families in need.

The invitation-only "Shoes for Students" event is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Raymond Cree Middle School, 1011 E. Vista Chino in Palm Springs.

Hosted by the district's Student Services Department and the Foundation for PSUSD, the event will provide each student with a new pair of Vans shoes. Families also can access health and early childhood services, a mini farmers market, a mobile health clinic, reading programs, free books and treats from Ben & Jerry's Palm Springs, organizers said.

"We've been so impressed by how the community has stepped up for our young scholars," Eliza Stern, a foundation board director and co-chair of the program, said in a statement. "Denise Petty and I developed this concept with Student Services. What started as a way to help students feel confident and focus on academics, rather than on tattered, ill-fitting shoes, has blossomed into an event that shows how much we can support the entire family throughout the year."

The program began by providing students with new shoes and has grown into an event "that connects the district's neediest families with vital support," officials said.

Petty, a co-chair and foundation board director, said 92% of district students live at or below the poverty line.

"Shoes for Students" donors include the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation, Bighorn Cares, the Vista Las Palmas Neighborhood Organization and Bloom in the Desert Ministries.