Roni Lomeli, Reader's Choice Winner

Executive director of Shoes That Fit
Video: Roni discusses her cause
Mother of Lacey, 22, and Emily, 17

"In 1993, my older daughter's principal sent a note home asking if our school could help a less fortunate school in a nearby community. I volunteered and arranged for our school to participate in the Shoes That Fit program, which provides schoolchildren in need with new shoes and clothes. I started a second program at a local bakery in town, and soon I felt like I was spending more time helping Shoes That Fit than at my job as an insurance executive. In 2001, the board asked me to take the executive director position. With two girls eventually heading to college, I was a little nervous about transitioning to the nonprofit world, but my husband supported me all the way. I made the move and never looked back. Our hope is that when we provide children with new shoes or clothes, they'll be able to focus on their studies, not their circumstances, and to attend school in comfort and dignity. We receive so many thank-you notes from the kids. There was one little boy who was sent to the nurse's office because he was wearing just socks: He told her that there were four children in his family and only three pairs of shoes, and he was the last to get dressed. The best part about working at Shoes That Fit is that stories like this can have a happy ending."

About Shoes That Fit

"More than 12 million children live below the poverty line in the U.S.," says Roni Lomeli, executive director of Shoes That Fit, a nonprofit dedicated to providing new shoes and clothes to schoolchildren in need. Since its founding in 1992 by Elodie McGuirk, the organization has grown from helping just one school to reaching 780 in 29 states. "Shoes That Fit functions by having a sponsor—a business, school, or church—partner with a local school," says Lomeli. Participants at the sponsoring organization are then given the kids' sizes. "Because sponsors are purchasing items for an individual child, there's more of a connection," says Lomeli. So far, Shoes That Fit has donated more than 633,000 shoes and clothing items.

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