A NC teen raised $18,000 to buy new shoes for every kid in this public school

His plan started with one classroom, but his impact reached every child at the school.

“One… two… three!”

As Kaleb Gatlin, known to the students as “Mr. G,” finished his countdown, the gym at Sumner Elementary in southeast Greensboro erupted in sound. Hundreds of K–5 students tore open shoeboxes in unison: some gasped and screamed, others held up new sneakers in disbelief, and a few quietly smiled, already bending down to unlace the worn pairs they had come in with on their feet.

Just moments earlier, they had waited in a line that curled from the gym’s double doors to the main school building. Inside, 611 shoe boxes from Nike, Puma, Adidas, and other brands were stacked neatly across several tables. One for every child at the school, plus extras for those still to come.

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The shoes came from a partnership between national nonprofit Shoes That Fit and Greensboro native Gatlin, a senior at New Garden Friends School. As part of his senior capstone project, “Step Up for Sumner,” Gatlin raised more than $18,000 to provide a new pair of athletic sneakers for every student at Sumner Elementary, a Title I public school where all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

From one classroom to a whole school

Gatlin began volunteering at Sumner Elementary as part of a dual-enrollment education course he took through Guilford Technical Community College. With plans to study education at UNC Charlotte to become a public school teacher, he wanted firsthand experience working with students.

That opportunity came through his cousin, third-grade teacher Blake Bourne, who invited him into her classroom. Gatlin worked with her students throughout the fall, reading with them, teaching recreational basketball, and paying attention to what made them light up.

“I’ve always been a shoe guy,” he said. “And I noticed they were, too.”

At first, he planned to center his senior project around Bourne’s classroom. But after connecting with Shoes That Fit, Gatlin realized he couldn’t ignore the rest of the grades.

“He came home and told me, ‘Mom, I can’t just do third grade,’” said Wendy Gatlin, Kaleb’s mother. “He said, ‘There are sibling groups at this school. One kid can’t go home with a pair of shoes while their brother or sister gets nothing.’ That spoke volumes to me.”

Wendy watched as her son mapped out a plan between late October and early November of last year, with his goal to raise the funds by Thanksgiving.

“We didn’t make Thanksgiving, but he launched his website for the event on Giving Tuesday, which was Dec. 4,” Wendy said. “So that was perfect.”

Once Gatlin launched his website, she said he relied solely on family, friends, and community donations. No corporate donors, and no major sponsors. By Jan. 4, he had raised more than $18,000, surpassing his original goal by over $1,000.

“It was just remarkable,” Wendy said. “Through kindness alone, he made it happen. And I’m super proud of him.”

Basics before books

According to the US Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, more than 1.3 million North Carolinians—including nearly 400,000 children—lived below the federal poverty line in 2023. North Carolina has the 14th highest child poverty rate in the nation, with children of color and rural communities disproportionately affected.

“These high levels of hardship show what we already know,” said Alexandra Sirota, director of the nonpartisan NC Budget & Tax Center, in a press release. “Economic growth doesn’t trickle down to families struggling to meet basic needs.”

Advocates say the state has not prioritized equitable investment in public education. In 2023, North Carolina lawmakers passed House Bill 10, titled “Require ICE Cooperation & Budget Adjustments.” It’s a bill former Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed, citing the bill as a plan to expand private school vouchers and cut corporate taxes while failing to raise teacher pay. The veto was later overruled. But the NC Budget & Tax Center echoed the concern, calling the bill “a patchwork of solutions that reflects a larger problem,” noting it favors tax cuts over investments in housing, child care, and public schools.

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For schools like Sumner, that funding gap is often made visible in the small things: coats in winter, backpacks in August, and shoes year-round.

Sumner Elementary is over 100 years old and serves 561 students. The school is classified as Title I, with 100% of students qualifying as low-income, according to the NC Department of Public Instruction’s 2024–25 Title I Eligible Schools Report. According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, 1 in 6 children in North Carolina lives in a home with inconsistent access to food.

The principal, Tiffany Hinton, said it’s all connected to their future success.

“If they do not have food, if they do not have basic necessities, there’s no way that we can expect them to thrive in school,” she said.

She said food access at Sumner improved this year, thanks to a districtwide expansion of the Community Eligibility Provision, which now provides free breakfast and lunch. Sumner is one of 110 Guilford County schools eligible for the 2024-25 school year.

But some needs persist—including something as simple as shoes.

“Because it takes away any limitation for them to come to school,” said Hinton. “So not having a proper pair of shoes, it might be too tight, it might be too big, it might be too dirty, or it just may not be usable. So I feel like that mitigates any issue for students coming to school each and every day, which is something that we promote.”

Shoes to service

The logistics behind “Step Up for Sumner” were precise. Gatlin worked with teachers, staff, and volunteers to measure every student’s feet. Then, in partnership with the California-based nonprofit Shoes That Fit, he coordinated the purchase and delivery of 611 pairs of brand-new sneakers, enough for every student at the school, plus extras to start a “shoe closet” for new arrivals.

“He contacted us after being referred by (San Antonio Spurs point guard) Chris Paul’s mom, Robin,” said Debra Moton, head of sports and entertainment partnerships at Shoes That Fit. “And we were just so proud of him. We have a 17-year-old boy—normally girls think like this—but he wanted to raise the money and give back. He went over his goal in record time.”

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The organization’s mission is straightforward: to ensure that every child in need has a brand-new pair of athletic shoes. But Moton said the impact is much deeper.

“We know this boosts kids’ confidence,” she said. “It makes them feel like they belong. They want to run more, play more. And we know it even helps with confidence in their schoolwork—not having to worry about someone teasing them about their footwear.”

What struck Moton most was Gatlin’s refusal to leave anyone out. She added that needs like this exist in schools across the country, and often go unmet.

“It says a lot about where we are as a society,” Moton said. “That something as basic as shoes can make such a big difference.”

Commitment and a contract

Among those attending the reveal event was Alan Hooker, Guilford County Schools’ director of recruiting. He didn’t just come to witness the moment. He came with an offer.

“What we do is, identify talent early, we offer them what we call an early contract,” Hooker said. “It has stipulations on it, but what we presented to Kaleb was the opportunity—once he finishes college and meets all the North Carolina licensure requirements—he has employment with Guilford County Schools.”

For Hooker, it wasn’t just about filling a vacancy. It was about recognizing someone who demonstrated what the profession needs.

“We are in great need of teachers,” he said. “But we don’t just need bodies in classrooms. We need people who care about the growth and development of people, whether it’s for two years, three years, five years, or a whole career.”

According to the state Department of Public Instruction’s latest State of the Teaching Profession report, the teacher attrition rate declined to 9.88% in the 2023–24 school year, down from 11.5% the year before. But turnover remains high for early-career teachers, with attrition rates ranging from 11.7% to 17.5% among those in their first five years on the job. Statewide, the overall vacancy rate has risen to 8.2%, though DPI officials noted that only 1.9% of those positions remain completely unfilled, with many staffed by temporarily licensed or retired educators rehired to fill gaps.

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For Gatlin, who plans to attend UNC Charlotte, the offer was unexpected but meaningful.

“When I first told [Hooker] about the idea of the project, he joked around about [the job offer],” Gatlin said. “But I definitely didn’t think he was being serious…[I feel] amazing. I’m happy, grateful, and thankful for everything.” 

After the last boxes were opened and the students returned to class, Gatlin and his mom stayed behind to help clean up. Gatlin, not one for long speeches, said what stayed with him most was the worry that students might not like the shoes.

“In the back of my head, there was always that worry that kids wouldn’t like the shoes or something,” he said. “But this wasn’t the case. Every kid loved their pair of shoes. So it worked out well.”

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