Heart and Sole event provides shoes, encouragement to 600 Jackson students
JACKSON, Tenn. — More than 600 students at Arlington Elementary School received new shoes and socks Tuesday during the 7th annual Heart and Sole event, a community service project organized by the Old Hickory Rotary Club.
The $30,000 project brought together community leaders who washed students’ feet and provided them with new socks and New Balance tennis shoes.
“What you’re going to see today is leaders coming together with students, washing their feet, and then, putting brand new socks and brand new shoes on their feet,” said Mark Cancia, president of the Old Hickory Rotary Club.
Program addresses community need
The program began when Shelley Hayes, regional director for the Tennessee Department of Health, identified a troubling issue in the community.
“During the winter months, it’s especially an issue,” Cancia said, referring to students lacking proper tennis shoes.
Hayes emphasized that the event serves a purpose beyond providing footwear.
“Not every child needs a pair of socks and tennis shoes, but every child needs an encouraging word,” Hayes said.
The event generated visible excitement among students who received the new shoes.
“You’ll just see them light up, and every kid loves a new, fresh pair of shoes. They jump up, and they’re like—they want to take off running across the gym,” Hayes said.
Haylen Ayers, a junior shooting guard for the University School of Jackson, contributed to the event through her partnership with the shoe brand.
“Obviously being young, and being seventeen, and being able to do this is something incredible not a lot of people get to experience,” Ayers said.
Since its inception in 2019, the Heart and Sole program has served every public elementary school in the Jackson-Madison County School System.
For more news in the Jackson area, click here.
