For parents like Hilary Cain, the start of the new school year seems to come a little faster every year. It’s a time she’s learned to dread financially.
Cain’s the mother of two boys, ages 16 and 8, who need new clothes and school supplies. The mom works cleaning offices while studying to become a social worker, and struggles to make ends meet.
“Even with other assistance,” she said, “I do my best and it’s still not enough.”
Cain’s not alone. According to a recent NerdWallet survey, parents around the country say they’ll probably have to spend about $200 more on back-to-school shopping this year than last year.
But through collaboration with nonprofit organizations and a new corporate partner, more than 100 kids at the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center received help with their back-to-school shopping July 18 — and got to meet hip-hop legend Darryl McDaniels of Run-D.M.C.
The Carmel-based nonprofit New Shoe Day gave more than a hundred free pairs of Under Armour shoes to kids in Mary Rigg’s Summer Day Camp program. The summer program offers kids ages 5 through 15 art and science programs and exposes them to careers they may want to pursue in the future.
Cain, whose 8-year-old is in the summer camp, said she is grateful for the free shoes.
“They’re getting to that age where they want nice and new stuff,” Cain said, “so it’s nice to be able to send them back to school in something that makes them feel good about themselves.”
More about New Shoe Day
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When kids want to compete but don’t have the footwear, New Shoe Day steps in.
Tougher back-to-school shopping
New Shoe Day board member Willie Little said the nonprofit helps kids avoid feeling like they’re not equals with other children.
“We really want to help create a space where kids in Indiana don’t have to go to school while not feeling great with what’s on their feet,” Little said. “It’s one less thing for (families) to have to worry about.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices for backpacks, luggage and travel bags have risen about 30%, pencils and art supplies have risen 27% and paper products like tablets and notebooks have risen about 26%. Trump administration tariffs are expected to increase the cost of clothing and shoes about 20% in the long-term, according to The Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan research group.
Rising prices are especially being felt in West Indianapolis, where the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center is located. About 35% of the neighborhood population lives below the poverty rate, which means they make enough money to afford basic necessities like food, clothing and housing.
The center serves mainly West Indianapolis residents and families from neighboring communities, which are experiencing similar poverty rates.
Mary Rigg president Heather Pease said the center has seen a 29% increase in use of its food pantry in the first three months of the year, indicating that neighbors may be feeling an increasing financial strain.
“This is such a vibrant and vulnerable neighborhood,” Pease said. “And I think especially with all the things that we’re experiencing in the world, with the increase in costs — it’s just harder and harder to send your kids back to school.”
A visit from a hip-hop legend
In addition to receiving shoes, Mary Rigg campers had the chance this month to meet McDaniels, a founding member of Run-D.M.C. Although the group reached its peak popularity decades before, kids at the neighborhood center experienced their music through recent movies, like “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” and TikTok videos.
McDaniels visited Mary Rigg as an ambassador for Hatch for Hunger, a nonprofit based in Carmel that provides animal protein, such as eggs, poultry and beef, to food banks and pantries. Hatch for Hunger and Elanco Animal Health, which built its global headquarters in West Indianapolis, will unveil a program to help improve nutritional security in the neighborhood in mid-August, Elanco officials said.
At Mary Rigg, McDaniels spoke to the kids about growing up and struggling to decide what he wanted to do with his life. McDaniels also performed several of the group’s hit songs, including “It’s Tricky,” “Christmas in Hollis” and “Sucker M.C.’s.”
He said avoiding peer pressure helped him and his friends Joseph Simmons and Jason Mizell — also known as founding Run-D.M.C. members DJ Run and Jam Master Jay — achieve hip-hop stardom.
“I didn’t worry about what they thought about me,” McDaniels said. “I believed in myself. And me and my two friends had a dream to make something that people all around the world would hear. And we were able to do that.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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