KVNE, St. Paul, Buckner team up for annual shoe drive to support East Texas students

Published 5:45 am Saturday, July 26, 2025

As the first day of school approaches, KVNE is helping East Texas students start on the right foot. Now in its 13th year, the annual shoe drive — held in partnership with St. Paul Children’s Services and Buckner Children and Family Services — aimed to collect 2,500 pairs of shoes for local kids.

“Shoes are one of those things I think gets put on the back burner whenever we go back to school,” said Kayla Berrier, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach at KVNE. “Our focus is school supplies and probably clothes, and a lot of kids get hand-me-down shoes. So, it’s one of those things that we want to be able to give them brand new so they can walk into the school year with confidence and ready for whatever they get to tackle that school year.”

To help boost donations, KVNE hosted a community drop-off event on Friday, featuring face painting, bubbles, music, and Kona Ice.

“We’ve had a lot of great responses from churches,” Berrier said. “We’ve done a lot of shoe drive stops at Walmart and other organizations in town, and we’ve had a lot of people show up. I think we’re going to get pretty close, if not to our goal.”

The drive wouldn’t be possible without long-standing partnerships. Buckner Children and Family Services of East Texas, a nonprofit faith-based organization, has been part of the effort for 12 years.

“This is such a huge need,” said Shelly Smith, Executive Director of Buckner Children and Family Services of East Texas. “Getting school supplies, shoes, clothes — all of those things for back to school — the average for a family is $150 per child. If you have multiple children, it’s a huge expense when you’re preparing your kids for back to school.”

In addition to partnering with KVNE, Buckner is also preparing for its own back-to-school event — the School Supply Train in Longview — which will take place on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ROC First Baptist Church of Longview, 212 E. South Street. The event will not only hand out the collected shoes from the drive, but also backpacks, uniforms, immunizations, eye exams, haircuts, and other resources for families.

“They don’t have to be from Longview to be able to receive services,” Smith said. “Our mission at Buckner Children and Family Services is to serve vulnerable children and families, and one of the ways that we do that is by alleviating this financial burden for families to get their children back to school.”

At St. Paul Children’s Services, the need has continued to grow. According to Crystal Smoker, Operations Director, the number of children needing shoes has more than doubled in just two years.

“Two years ago, we served about 364 children… then last year, it went up to 711,” she said. “It was a drastic change, and this year, so far, we have 748 children registered, but we just continue to see the need increase. Families are still registering.”

That increasing demand has made KVNE’s role even more vital.

“We’re thankful for our partnership with KVNE — for their willingness to help us collect shoes here at St. Paul and for serving multiple communities at once,” Smoker said. “They’ve truly been a blessing to us in so many ways. We stay in touch throughout the year as we prepare for this event, and anytime KVNE partners with a local agency, it’s a real benefit to that organization.”

While St. Paul counts on KVNE’s shoe drive for its mission, it also depends on monetary donations to assist with school uniforms, socks, and undergarments for those in need.

“Without (KVNE), it would be a much, much bigger task for us to be able to meet that need for all of the kids,” Smoker said. “We have so many kids that come through… just seeing their smiles when they receive their new shoes and putting on the shoes, the second you see their face light up you know it really matters to them and it speaks value to them.”

At the heart of the effort is a shared mission among the organizations: to serve others through their faith.

“We want to be Jesus’ hands and feet and serve those families in our community,” Smith said.

“You’re giving a lot more than just a pair of shoes,” Berrier added. “You’re giving hope to a kid and you’re showing encouragement to someone that you may never meet and pointing them to Jesus in a way that you may never get to know.”