Non-profit gives news shoes and smiles to underprivileged children in Central Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There were big smiles at Jefferson Elementary School in Central Fresno on Thursday.

More than 500 students received brand new shoes courtesy of the "Shoes that Fit" program. The non-profit provides athletic shoes to underprivileged children around the country.

A few weeks ago, every student at Jefferson Elementary, from transitional kindergarten through sixth grade, was properly sized. On Thursday, the boxes arrived.

For some of these kids, this is the first time in their lives they've had a chance to experience the feeling of a brand new pair of kicks.

"One of the kids that really touched me was a little girl who got her new shoes and she wouldn't open in box. So we kept coming over and saying, 'Don't you want to look at the shoes?' She had never been given anything new in a box before. So to us, the power of getting something new and knowing that these shoes have been measured for you, they've been purchased for you. I think these kids.. They are our future and they need to know that this community believes in them," said Amy Fass, Shoes That Fit.

HOW YOU CAN HELP --> Donate to Shoe That Fit

The McMurry family also donated money to help make this shoe giveaway possible. Last year, the Shoes That Fit Program helped more than 102-thousand underprivileged children across the country.