THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511030165
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
A tiny pair of Converse All-Stars, dotted with multi-colored dinosaurs, hangs from the branch of a tree in the lobby of City Hall.
Black patent-leather shoes - no bigger than the palm of a hand - dangle from another limb of the tree.
By Dec. 20, city employees hope to have 500 pairs of new and gently used children's shoes hanging on the green wooden arms of the ``Holiday Shoe Tree.''
The footware will be donated to the Portsmouth Salvation Army in time for Christmas.
``We need shoes, shoes, shoes,'' coaxed Lydia Pettis Patton, director of Leisure Services.
The city started the project last year as a spinoff of the Salvation Army Angel Tree and about 150 pairs were collected.
``We wanted to do something unique, particularly for our youth,'' said Patton, who came up with the project's theme, ``Giving Our Youth a Firm Foundation From the Bottom Up.''
``Everybody's doing the coats, a lot of people do the clothes, and my thoughts were, `Well, nobody's working with our children from the foundation up,' '' she said.
The campaign is not limited to city employees. Donations will be accepted by anyone willing to give, said Patton.
Maj. William D. Davis of the Portsmouth Salvation Army knows of only one other city in the state that holds a similar drive.
``There's a shoe fund in Richmond,'' he said, ``but not a shoe tree.''
So far, 1,215 children have registered for holiday assistance in Portsmouth and some parts of Chesapeake through the Portsmouth Salvation Army.
Their names - along with other vital information - will appear on area Angel Trees so that gifts of clothing, toys and other items may be donated to them.
``I know there are some children on our Angel Trees who do put down that they need shoes,'' said Davis. ``So what we're able to do is match up the size of the shoes that we have and give them to the children.''
Most of the dozen or so pairs of shoes on the tree so far are new, although older shoes without too much ``mileage'' also will be accepted and sanitized before distribution.
``We always think about dressing our kids up and giving them things, but very few think about their needing good, warm shoes,'' said Patton.
Donations to the shoe tree may be brought to the first floor of City Hall, 801 Crawford St. For more information, call the Leisure Services department at 393-8481. by CNB