Since 2019, the Inguanzo family of Miami Lakes -- Parents Ramiro and Gina and their children Christopher, Sophia and Susanna -- has coordinated a shoe drive with Loving Soles to benefit impoverished people who are cared for by Camillus House in downtown Miami.
This year, 19 municipalities, the Miami-Dade County League of Cities, the State Attorney’s Office and more than 20 schools collected footwear for the cause. Students donated their time to clean up the shoes, make them ready for new owners and pack them up for delivery.
Camillus House estimates that 50,000 pairs of shoes have been donated by this group of kids and people in Miami-Dade and Broward counties over the years.
Hilda M. Fernandez, chief executive officer of Camillus House, said in a press release, “... This display of generosity restores hope and faith in humanity.”
Fernandez was at Miami Lakes Optimist Park on May 6 to accept the donation that filled two Camillus House trucks.
In the second photo: Among the helping hands at Optimist Park on donation day, front row from left: Melanie Benitez Munoz; Isabella Sanchez; Steven Rodriguez; Nicolas Vicaria; Julian Carvajal and Susanna Inguanzo. Back row: Salome Ariza; Kiara Figueras; Sophia Inguanzo; Christian Fernandez; Christopher Inguanzo; Gabriel Auais; Anuraag Bekkary; Michael Anon; Nico Gutierrez; Juan Carlos Menendez and Jaylene Guerra. Photo by Jonathan Gil, Town of Miami Lakes.