Thanks to a New Jersey couple, a women’s shelter and rehabilitation program received their Christmas in the summer of July. The couple bought out a closing Payless store and donated hundreds of shoes to them.
“I hate shoe shopping,” said Susan Cook.
Even though Cook hates shopping, that didn’t stop her and Patrick Riordan, her partner, to shop for hundreds of people that they don’t even know.
Payless filed for bankruptcy and most stores were expected to close including the store in Hamilton Township Marketplace in Mercer County in which the couple stumbled upon, out of the blue.
Inside the store, there were lots of posters that said: “Everything $3.” Riordan said, “As we walked in, they changed it from $3 to $2.” Which sounded like a great deal, but then an even better one came along after chatting with a few employees.
Riordan said:
They’re talking, they say ‘we’re trying to get everything out of here today, sell everything today and close today’. I say ‘you really want to close today?’ The manager says ‘yeah I’d like to be done with it.’ I say ‘how much to buy everything in this store right now?’
The store manager made some calls and then told them that every single item is just $1 each. They said ring it all up. The couple explained how they had to ring up their 247 pairs of shoes bill a few times because the Payless cash register would only let them buy 100 items at a time.
Cook said:
There were all kinds of shoes. Kids sneakers, boy sneakers, light-up sneakers.
Originally Susan was buying shoes for her grandchildren then Patrick decided to buy out the entire store. The couple donated it all to Womanspace, a shelter, and rehabilitation program in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, that serves families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. And because of this kind act, they have helped hundreds of women and children in need. Cook said, “It’s a start back up to a better life, a newer life.”
Womanspace wrote:
We can offer them the basics that most people take for granted and we can do that because of this generous family and others like them that understand the importance of sharing.
The couple estimated that the retail value of the shoes they bought was probably around $5,000. They spent $247 and they say it was well worth every cent. “You don’t have to spend $1,000. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just a little human compassion and consideration for somebody else, that’s what matters” Cook explained. They hope that their donation will inspire other people to give back, too.
“Kindness is something that should be shared and shown” said Cook
