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First UMC hosts 8th annual back to school event

By: Lauren Soulek, KELO

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Saturday, Samaritan’s Feet hosted a back to school event in the First United Methodist Church parking lot in Sioux Falls.

Over 400 students registered to pick up a bag filled with things to help them kickstart the new school year. Each bag had a pair of athletic shoes, socks, and a hygiene kit. They also got a “Hope Note” with an encouraging message from a stranger somewhere else in America. And for the second year in a row, Feeding South Dakota helped out by providing a backpack food bag.

“With the pandemic, we’ve made some decisions to go outdoors to be able to socially distance. This year we’re doing a drive through shoe distribution which presents a lot of fun and a difference for what we do as an organization that normally washes the feet of the shoe recipients,” Denise Blomberg, regional director of Samaritan’s Feet, said.

“That’s probably been the toughest part of this year is not necessarily seeing the direct reaction of some of the kids but, you know, for some of these people, we’re replacing the same shoes that they were given last year and that’s a big thing. So just to be able to do as much as we can. We’re all very lucky, very blessed just to be here today and be able to help,” volunteer Sam Willard said.

In just 2020 alone, Samaritan’s Feet has distributed over five hundred thousand shoes across the United States.

UMC

Dakotas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church 605.996.6552 https://www.dakotasumc.org./media/library/fluid-mod-setting/12/logo/logo.png https://www.dakotasumc.org./media/library/fluid-mod-page/2/slideshow_home/SS_Nov-2024_WebSlider_1700x720px.jpeg 1331 University Ave. Mitchell SD 57301-0460 US 43.69689310 -98.03291320 122 W. Franklin Avenue Ste 400 Minneapolis MN 55404 US 0.00000000 0.00000000 1331 W University Ave Mitchell SD 57301 US 0.00000000 0.00000000 1331 University Ave Mitchell SD 57301 US 0.00000000 0.00000000 http://www.facebook.com/dakotasumc http://www.twitter.com/DakotasUM https://vimeo.com/dakotasumc https://www.instagram.com/dakotasumc https://www.flickr.com/photos/dakotasumc/albums