The Old Newsboys of Greater Lansing, easing the search for shoes
It would soon be the start of a new school year, and scores of families had spent entire afternoons scouring yard sales around the neighborhood. One mother in particular had hopes of finding shoes for her children. The prior year, two of the children were unable to play in activities either during or after school because they didn’t have decent, proper fitting footwear. She knew the expense of purchasing brand new shoes would mean the family going without other necessities, she just had to find something at one of the sales.
The mother searched the tags of every pair of shoes she found, hoping to see sizes her children could wear. Their shoes were getting holes in them, some were too loose, some too tight, but worst of all they were causing blisters and sore feet. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find any shoes in the sizes they needed. She realized she had a difficult choice to make. With only enough money for one brand new pair of shoes, she had to decide which child needed shoes now, and which ones would have to wait.
The story above is real for so many children in our community. Each year, The Old Newsboys of Greater Lansing raises funds through the sale of a newspaper called the “Spoof Journal.” The cost of the paper is whatever someone wishes to donate, and those donations go directly toward the purchase of brand new shoes, boots, and socks for school aged children who are in desperate need of these items. This volunteer organization has been in existence for almost 100 years.
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In light of COVID-19, we’ve chosen for the second time to abstain from selling the Spoof Journal face to face, our traditional way of raising awareness, to having it distributed to the community with the help of the Lansing State Journal. This change has undoubtedly caused a reduction in the amount of funds typically raised, but we are determined to do what we can, and feel blessed to have the support of the Lansing State Journal in our effort to continue providing you our annual paper.
When you look inside today’s Lansing State Journal you’ll find your 2021 copy of the Lansing Old Newsboys “Spoof Journal.” Our easy-to-use coupon will be in several editions of the paper; a donation envelope will also be included inside the Sunday, December 5 edition. Visit our website at lansingoldnewsboys.org for additional information and donation options. We hope you’ll find the Spoof Journal we’ve provided to be a fun, lighthearted paper that puts a smile on your face, and please consider joining us in our mission of providing shoes, boots, and socks to children within our community.
Bill Reed is the chair of the Old Newsboys Sales Day.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: The 'Spoof Journal,' raising funds for children's' shoes
