ST. CLOUD, Fla.-- Seven-year-old Anaya Daily and her mom Marlene are turning their garage into a shoe warehouse.
Anaya attends Narcoossee Elementary School and on a recent day noticed a little boy in her class had shoes that were falling apart. "I said dad, at school my friend Nathan broke his shoes, and those were the only shoes he had."
How did that make you feel, she was asked. "Sad... because it could break even more and then he has to walk barefoot."
Anaya's parents bought that little boy a pair of shoes and Anaya said when she presented them another boy who witnessed the exchange said he also would love new shoes.
"When my husband told me about it I said let's start a shoe drive," Anaya's mother Marlene said.
That kicked off Anaya's Shoe Box drive, and the daily family started sharing it through social media and flIers.
They say the response has been strong with some people providing gift cards to buy new shoes.
"Something simple as one pair of shoes that can lighten the load for that parent," Marlene said.
The Daily family plans to donate many of the shoes to families at Anaya's school, but they don't want to stop there. Eventually they hope to help the whole community.
