On Tuesday, August 9th, Louisville native and rapper EST Gee donated approximately $50,000 worth of new shoes and school supplies in the Highlands at the OneNess Sneaker Boutique on Bardstown Road.
The back-to-school shoe giveaway helped over 300 local families as they prepared for the upcoming school year, blessing them with some footwear, iPads, and bags stuffed with books, pencils, etc.
The packages were given out on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Reports from WLKY stated that people waited for several hours before they could walk away with a gift.
Long lines turned into mobs, but this fun-loving community activation sparked no violence.
Jefferson County Public School 9th grader Essence Smith said, “I’m really happy because now I got shoes to go with some outfits.”
“We want to put smiles on kids’ faces and help out parents who can’t necessarily provide the way they need to, especially in these tough times with what everybody has going on now,” Rhyan Moss, a representative from OneNess, said.
The store’s inventory manager Bennett Small said, to WAVE3, “It was very important for us.”
“You know times like this, it’s hard to make something happen that completes everyone and not cause issues with the demand,” Small stated. “So, we’re grateful that we’ve had our help in keeping it safe and we were able to partner with a local rapper that is doing really good in the city, taking care of everyone.”