Support local news that keeps Indy informed.

GIVE NOW

Kroger, along with mascots and representatives from the Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers, fitted hundreds of students for new shoes and also gave away socks, hats, gloves and toys.

According to Kroger, 9,000 pairs of shoes have been given to students at Daniel Webster since the annual giveaway began.

See photos of the 21st annual Shoe Day captured by photojournalist Stephanie Amador.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Jenna Watson is art director for Mirror Indy. Contact her at jenna.watson@mirrorindy.org.

Stephanie Amador is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach her stephaniekblondet@gmail.com.

Close window

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

Some good news – hundreds of kids get new shoes ahead of the holidays

by Jenna Watson and Stephanie Amador, Mirror Indy
December 15, 2025

<h1>Some good news – hundreds of kids get new shoes ahead of the holidays</h1> <p class="byline">by Jenna Watson and Stephanie Amador, Mirror Indy <br />December 15, 2025</p> <p>Kroger, along with mascots and representatives from the Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers, fitted hundreds of students for new shoes and also gave away socks, hats, gloves and toys.</p> <p>According to Kroger, 9,000 pairs of shoes have been given to students at Daniel Webster since the annual giveaway began. </p> <p>See photos of the 21st annual Shoe Day captured by photojournalist Stephanie Amador.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA15-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69686" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Luz Rubio and Kathia Portio laugh as Boomer takes off children’s shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA16-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69687" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kids are fitted for new shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA17-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69688" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Students get fitted for new shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis. The Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, Kroger and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce gave away new shoes and toys to hundreds of students of the school.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA18.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69689" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Boomer jokes with Caliyyah Karem as her students wait on the bleachers to get their new shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <div class="wp-block-columns alignfull"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA19-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69690" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pacers dancer Brie Taylor helps a student pick out her toy.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA20-1024x657.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69691" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Freddy Fever solicits a high five from Veronica Velazquez.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> </p></div> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA21-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69692" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kelber Palacios (center) laughs as Boomer takes off the children’s shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA23-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69694" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Boomer interacts with the children Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA22.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69693" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Boomer interacts with the children Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA24.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69695" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mya Jenkins helps measure students' feet to determine their shoe size Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA25-1024x677.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69696" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Caiti Chapon (right) shows off a shoe to Kathia Portio on Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA26-1024x799.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69697" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Indiana Fever mascot Freddie Fever helps one of the students put on his shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA27.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69698" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Emiley Vasquez tries on her new shoes while Wendy Tian waits for hers Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SHOE-DAY-PHOTOS_SA28-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-69699" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Freddy Fever helps a student put on his shoes Dec. 12, 2025, during the annual Shoe Day giveaway at Daniel Webster School 46 in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure> <p><em>Stephanie Amador is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach her stephaniekblondet@gmail.com.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/kids-get-new-shoes-ahead-of-the-holidays/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=69639&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/kids-get-new-shoes-ahead-of-the-holidays/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

Copy to Clipboard

1