SMITH COUNTY, Texas — Chapel Hill ISD and Shoe Department Encore helped kids get an early holiday present Thursday.
The shoe store gave kids in need a chance to pick up a new pair of shoes.
"Just to see all this like participation in the community to get these kids loved and shoes for the winter is amazing," Angela Daniels, the Chapel Hill Student Senate President, said.
While Shoe Department Encore was vital in making this shopping spree a reality, it was the high school students who took the forefront in raising money.
"There was a group of student council Student Senate members that wanted to do something for the community and so they started the fundraiser," organizer Tracy Steele said.
This is the 22nd year that Chapel Hill students have raised money for shoes for kids. This year they raised more than $8,000.
The programs makes a big difference in the lives of the kids they help. Daniels remembered a heartwarming moment she had with one of the kids that benefited from the program.
"She just like clung to me like a little kid, and it was so cute," Daniels remembered. "It was just like, that's when it hit me that I was meant for like this."
Every year, around 200 students make the trip and each student can pick new shoes up to $30.