Chris Brewer is the 'Sole Man' to kids

The Sedalia Lions Club has seen how little things can make a difference in the life of a child. For more than 50 years, the club has bought shoes for children in need during the holidays.
This year the club bought shoes for 89 children who attend elementary school in Sedalia —  36 from Washington, 12 from Parkview, 15 from Skyline, 11 from Horace Mann and 15 from Heber Hunt.

Chris Brewer, chairman of the program for the past five years, said the club budgeted about $3,500 for the shoes. J.C. Penney gives the Lions its best sale price, along with a 20 percent discount.

“That allows us to have a per piece account of right around $30 to $32 per shoe,” Brewer said. “We don’t limit anything except for Wheelies and that kind of stuff. The kids get to pick whatever they want. We don’t guide them into anything.”

He starts working on this project in November, but he stays in touch with the schools year-round. The club hosts a variety of activities to raise money for the shoe program including the MO Blues, Cruise and BBQ event and a scrapbooking night. The rest of the money is raised through donations from members and the public.

“The club’s been real generous towards this. We started off with about $1,000 a few years ago. All of the members have really bought into the program,” he said.

Brewer works with school district staff to ensure every need is met.

“I went and called (the schools) back and said I want to be able to report back to the club that we outfitted every kid that had a need. They went back to the drawing board and a few of them brought a couple more kids who were on the borderline,” he said. “They’ve all told me that we’ve outfitted every grade-school kid that had a shoe need this year.”

The Lions don’t pick which children get shoes. That decision is made by the principals, guidance counselors, social workers and nurses at the schools.

“This experience is not just about getting a pair of shoes. It is about going to a ‘fancy’ store and being able to look at and touch each choice before making your selection just for the mere reason that you like it,” said Susan Daly, counselor at Parkview Elementary School. “It doesn’t have to fit a budget or be practical and no one has ever worn them before you. It is a feeling that some kids have never experienced before.”

Brewer works with the schools to make sure all of the paperwork is done and coordinates the pick-up days and times.

He said the Lions jump at the chance to be one of the drivers.

“The drivers — those are the guys who really have the fun,” he said. “They get to talk to the kids back and forth between the school to J.C. Penney’s and get to learn a lot about the kids. They really enjoy it.”

As the children come into the store, their eyes light up.

“They are so excited. This is like the happiest day,” said Jessica Healey, a social worker at Skyline Elementary. “They’ve been asking, ‘When are we going?’ This means a lot to them, it really does.”

Each child is given a  new pair of socks when they come in. One little girl was excited because she came in wearing her brother’s socks.

“We’ve seen kids with socks stuffed into the end of their shoes to make up the difference,” said Brewer.

A teacher told Daly that she was amazed at how much larger a student’s shoes looked when he returned to school. She thought that he had chosen a pair much too big for him, so she had him stand tall and pressed on the toe of the shoe to discover his toes right where they should be. His other shoes had been that much too small for him.

This year a lot of the children were drawn to the Skechers and other brands of light-up shoes.

A first-grade girl from Skyline was walking around the store with a huge smile on her face saying, “They are really nice. I’ve seen them on TV.”

After the bill was totaled, the Lions had money left over that they used to purchase hats, coats and gloves that will be donated to the schools.

Theresa Eads, a counselor at Skyline Elementary, said one of her students summed up the experience best in a letter.

“Dr. Nice Man,
“Thank you for helping me go shopping for shoes. They’re the best pair I’ve ever had.”