Everyone wants to feel comfortable in their own skin, but that became more difficult for 12-year-old Joseph Gamez when he shot up to be 6 feet, 6 inches almost overnight.
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His biggest problem was finding shoes to fit his size-18 feet. The pairs his mom were able to scrounge up at bargain stores and Amazon were made for older men, making Joseph feel like he stuck out even more.
With school quickly approaching, his mom, Tiffany Jones, was running out of options. She needed to find shoes for her son fast, and she wanted to find ones that he could be proud to wear. The first place she turned to? A local Facebook group created during the pandemic as a means for neighbors to help each other.
“I know you guys probably think this is crazy but I need real help,” Tiffany wrote in her post. “I need to go viral yall. This group can do anything.”
She went on to explain her son’s problem with finding shoes and asked if anyone, including NBA and NFL players, could tell her where “big guys” find their cool shoes. Before Tiffany knew it, her post blew up with thousands of likes.
As the comments flew in, they started to get something even better: shoes! The very first week of Tiffany asking for help, her son received 15 pairs from people all across the city. Some were even from NBA players!
Brad Stricker, former Denver Nuggets basketball player, couldn’t relate more to Joseph’s struggle. Not only did he donate shoes, he met the 12-year-old at The Rim Shopping Center so he could deliver several pairs to him in-person.
One pair in particular was especially special. They were Air Jordan’s that Stricker had worn on the basketball court for 10 minutes. According to Tiffany, her son began to tear up as he slipped on the one-of-a-kind shoes.
“It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Tiffany said. “We didn’t have to spend a budget on shoes. I got to buy him nice outfits … He deserves it. He has a heart of gold.”
With stylish kicks and brand new outfits, Joseph was ready to conquer his first day of school. By the end of the day, he was able to confirm that the new shoes made a world of difference. He even said that the other students warmed up to him more. But Tiffany sees it a little differently than him.
“No, son, it’s you,” she said. “You’re walking with your head up and not looking down at your feet. Now, you can actually see the people who are talking to you.”
Tiffany can’t thank her community enough for the way they’ve changed her son’s life. One way she’s doing it is by running her own clothing closet full of new and gently used items called Bethany’s Closet.
“You guys gave me love and blessings that money couldn’t provide,” Tiffany said. “If this is what you guys do for your people, I want to be a part of this community.”
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