OLEAN — The Feet Heat sneaker drive has kicked off its mission to provide children in the community with new footwear before school begins again in September. This year, organizers have added a new twist: to prep the kids from head to toe, with haircuts as well as sneakers.

Pastor Tyrone Hall of Olean’s Church Without Walls, volunteers and the community are pushing the project hard to try to collect a goal of 1,000 new pairs of sneakers for kids in need in Olean and surrounding communities.

The sneakers are collected throughout the summer and then distributed to area kids shortly before the start of the new school year.

“Our goal, we want to get 1,000 pairs down the road,” Hall said. “Who knows when, but, hey, we can always have a goal to shoot towards. Yes, it helps the children, but more or less it really helps the parents and the families to move forward with that type of expense.”

Hall said Feet Heat was an idea he got from an Atlanta church that was giving out sneakers to its youth, and he thought his church could do the same for the youth in Olean.

“How I got the name ‘Feet Heat’ is, actually, somebody came to my barbershop and they said, ‘Hey, I like the heat on your feet,’ and I said, ‘You know what? OK, let’s start something giving sneakers out to our community called Feet Heat Sunday,'” Hall explained.

“The highest we’ve reached was 702 pair of sneakers, and that was in 2020,” he said. “Obviously, with the economy and everything going on, last year we ended up with over 300 pair, but it was more quality over quantity. You know, prices went up on everything, but we’ve been getting more quality — we accept any pair of sneakers, any kind, just brand new.”

To date, Feet Heat has collected 2,600 pairs of sneakers since its inception in 2019.

This year Hall, who also owns the Hall of Fame Barbershop, had the idea of providing haircuts to the children as well as new sneakers.

“This year it’s going to be a little bit different, and how it’s going to be different is we’re taking care of the children, we’re calling it from head to toe,” he said. “The people from my (barbershop) are going to set up downstairs as well on that Sunday, we’ll give them a pair of sneakers and they’ll sign up … for the ones that need haircuts as well.

“We’ll bless you from head to toe. Brand new pair of sneakers, plus when you get to the church that Sunday you can sign your children up to get a haircut. We have female barbers and male barbers.”

Hall explained that providing new, quality pairs of sneakers to kids preparing for a new school year has benefits that go beyond just practical footwear. The sneaker drive also helps prevent kids from being bullied over their footwear and gives them a sense of inclusion.

“I remember in 2020, a kid, you know, a younger kid, ran up to me and jumped in my arms and said thank you, with tears. He said, ‘This is the first pair of Jordans I ever had,’” Hall related.

“The whole goal in doing Feet Heat is let the children know they can, first and foremost, as we are a church, we get the children to run to Jesus. That’s the first thing,” Hall said. “The second thing is to run to your pastor or your local leaders in the community if you have something on your heart and your mind, to really express how you’re feeling.”

The sneakers can be dropped at the Hall of Fame Barbershop, 311 W. State St., or at Church Without Walls (CWOW), 1803 W. State St. Feet Heat also accepts monetary donations and can take Venmo. Usually the greatest need for shoe sizes are sizes 1-4 and sizes 6-9, boys and girls.

The deadline for donations is usually a week before the distribution date, which this year will be after service on Sunday, Aug. 24, in the fellowship hall of CWOW.

“What we’re focused on is the children who usually get hand-me-downs and don’t have a brand new pair of shoes,” Hall said. “We’re trying to eliminate bullying and people picking on them, starting up the school year. It’s a touching time to let the kids know they can be included.”