Arkansas Mother Buys All Shoes At Payless Store For Kids In Need

BabyGaga

By Helena Martin

Published Jul 30, 2019

She bought an entire store of shoes just for the kids of her community.

Via: Wikimedia Commons

Carrie Jernigan bought all the shoes of a closing Payless ShoeSource store to give them to kids in need. As a mom of three herself, Jernigan knows the struggle of going back-to-school shopping for your kids, and she recognizes how some moms may not be able to afford new shoes. With the money she saved, she chose to buy shoes for others instead of herself.

She is the president of the Alma School Board, and her area between Fayetteville and Fort Smith has a high poverty rate. Many cannot afford to eat a good meal every day, let alone new shoes for the school year. Recognizing this issue, Jernigan set out to help her local community.

The buyout was sparked when her eldest daughter asked for a pair of Avengers shoes for her classmate back in May. As she was paying for her items, Jernigan jokingly asked the clerk how much it would cost to buy all the shoes in the store. She didn’t expect to be on the phone with the regional manager having a conversation on how it would be possible to buyout the store. There were around 400 shoes left, and they made a deal for them.

Most of the products left behind were kids’ shoes, so Jernigan bought them for her community. Over 12 hours, 95 big boxes and a huge trailer containing around 1,500 pairs of shoes were bought.While she won’t disclose the true amount, Jernigan’s receipts from the store indicated that she saved about $21,000 from discounts. With the encouragement of her daughters, Jernigan selflessly gave a lot to her community.

Her local community reached out to help—hosting events where the shoes can be distributed to people. An anonymous resident even handed her $1,000 to “spend on those kids.” After receiving almost 200 messages from local parents trying to reserve a pair for their kids, Jernigan found more ways to give to her community. Along with other donations, Jernigan was able to buy another 250 pairs of shoes and socks for the next Back to School event in her community. Through her generosity, many kids can comfortably go to school in their new kicks this year.