VENMO= Kicks4KidsTucson
Tucson High and Ironwood Ridge collected 200 pairs of youth sneakers when all the numbers came in as part of a shoe drive to honor former Tucson High baseball player Troy Iturralde who recently passed away. His cousin Analee Oropeza is a defender for the Nighthawks. Those numbers were combined with the load collected by Frog and Firkin over the Christmas break.
Shoes were delivered to Coronado K-8 and Coronado Head Start in the Ironwood Ridge feeder pattern along with Twin Peaks K-8 (Troy’s former school). Carrillo K-5 and Roskruge K-8 received shoes in the Tucson High feeder pattern and shoes were dropped off to the Amphi and Prince Head Start programs due to the size of the sneakers.
The Ironwood Ridge and Tucson High communities (along with @FrognFirkinAZ ) collected 152 pairs of new youth sneakers to honor Troy. Troy’s former elementary (Twin Peaks) along with feeder schools Coronado, Roskruge and Carrillo will receive these new shoes this week #Kicks4Kids https://t.co/ASAXxCEoSJ pic.twitter.com/JTJQSiqQzf
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) February 8, 2022
Kicks4Kids began as a project to provide 500 tennis shoes to my own students at Rio Vista Elementary several years ago but it has grown into a program that has now spread across six school districts with over 18,000 pairs (over $450,000 worth) collected and distributed to low-income students and programs in need. It is the most successful program of its kind.
The program is simple. High school or club sports teams collect one pair of new tennis shoes (youth sizes 12-6) per athlete and the shoes will be delivered to a low-income school in that school’s feeder pattern or to another school in need. If bigger sizes are collected, then we will find a middle school or high school in need but that is not our primary focus. This past spring, I exchanged team photos for sneakers.
Thank you @FrognFirkinAZ for this big box of sneakers!!! @Kicks4KidsTuc #kicks4kids pic.twitter.com/sn8dT5YohP
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) January 21, 2022
Individuals and groups can also contribute, such as the National Elementary Honor Society and Student Council at Painted Sky Elementary. The program collects sneakers for their public service requirement. Also, companies can get involved. For instance, Frog and Firkin collected over $1,000 worth of sneakers last Christmas for Kicks4Kids. Several families have also dropped off shoes at my home.
In addition, all profits from high school team photos and senior photos go towards this program. The shoe bank is located at Rio Vista Elementary. Kicks4Kids is a non-profit entity.
Schools in Kicks4Kids Program (so far)
Acacia Elementary (Vail)
Amphitheater High School (Amphi)
Amphi Head Start
Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB)
Blenman Elementary (TUSD)
Booth-Fickett Elementary (TUSD)
Borton Elementary (TUSD)
Butterfield Elementary (Marana)
Calabasas (Rio Rico)
Carillo K-5 (TUSD)
Casa de los Ninos (Program)
Catalina High School (TUSD)
Cavett Elementary (TUSD)
Centennial Elementary (Flowing Wells)
C.E. Rose Elementary (TUSD)
Challenger (Sunnyside)
Coronado K-8 (Amphi)
Coronado Head Start
Coyote Trail (Marana)
Cragin Elementary (TUSD)
Davis Elementary (TUSD)
DeGrazia (Marana)
Donaldson Elementary (Amphi)
Doolen Middle School (TUSD)
Drexel (Sunnyside)
Elvira Elementary (Sunnyside)
Erickson Elementary (TUSD)
Flowing Wells High School (Flowing Wells)
Fort Apache Reservation
Gallego Primary (Sunnyside)
Grijalva Elementary (TUSD)
Hendricks Elementary (Flowing Wells)
Holaway Elementary (Amphi)
Holladay Elementary (TUSD)
Hollinger K-8 (TUSD)
Homer Davis Elementary (Flowing Wells)
Hudlow Elementary (TUSD)
Imagine Amphi Preschool (Amphi)
Ironwood (Marana)
Keeling Elementary (Amphi)
Laguna Elementary (Flowing Wells)
Liberty Elementary (Sunnyside)
Lineweaver Elementary (TUSD)
Los Amigos (Sunnyside)
Los Ninos (Sunnyside)
Lynn/Urquides Elementary (TUSD)
Manzo Elementary (TUSD)
Marshall Elementary (TUSD)
Maxwell Elementary (TUSD)
Mexicayotl Academy of Tucson (TUSD)
Miles Elementary (TUSD)
Mission Manor Elementary (Sunnyside)
Mission View Elementary (TUSD)
Nash Elementary (Amphi)
Ochoa Elementary (TUSD)
Ocotillo (Sunnyside)
Oyama Elementary (TUSD)
Pistor Middle Scholl (TUSD)
Prince Elementary (Amphi)
Prince Head Start
Pueblo Gardens (TUSD)
Quail Run (Marana)
Rattlesnake Ridge (Marana)
Richardson Elementary (Flowing Wells)
Rio Vista Elementary (Amphi)
Roadrunner (Marana)
Roberts/Naylor K-8 (TUSD)
Roskruge K-8 (TUSD)
Santa Clara Elementary (Sunnyside)
Sewell Elementary (TUSD)
Sierra (Sunnyside)
Summit View (Sunnyside)
Sunnyside High School
Tolson Elementary (TUSD)
Tortolita (Marana)
Twin Peaks (Marana)
Walker Elementary (Amphi)
Walter Douglas Elementary (Flowing Wells)
White Elementary (TUSD)
Whitmore Elementary (TUSD)
Wright Elementary (TUSD)
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee and he earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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