Marc Harris (center), Sunbirds store manager, and Burt Greene (right) of Georgia Boot present Lewis County Food Bank Coalition President Sue Barlow with a check for $3,000 on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018.
An ongoing partnership between Sunbird Shopping Center and Georgia Boot brought in a $3,000 donation for the Lewis County Food Bank Coalition.
The two entities saddled up for a two-week initiative to donate to the food bank $5 per pair of Georgia Boots sold — a charity drive that’s happened annually for seven years now.
Each year has seen an increase in boots sold and money raised, said Sunbirds store manager Marc Harris. It’s something he attributes to consistently advertising the project each year, and a store staff trained to tell customers about it whenever they can.
“So somebody could be in hardware buying a light bulb, and then we’ll stop and say, ‘Have you heard of this?’” said Harris.
This year, they sold 50 more pairs of boots over the two-week period than last year.
The two-week time frame started in September, and the money has handed off to the food bank coalition Friday afternoon during a brief ceremony in Sunbirds.
Sue Barlow, president of the Lewis County Food Bank Coalition, said the money will go entirely to buying food for families serviced by the coalition. Specifically, it’ll go toward staple food items that are always needed.
The partnership began several years ago when Sunbirds staff sat down with Georgia Boot folks, with the intention of finding a way to help out in the community.
“We really wanted to focus laser-like on one thing — one good thing,” said Harris.
The Lewis County Food Bank Coalition services nine locations throughout Lewis County communities, and consistently feeds around 100 families in each location, said Barlow.
Harris gave a shout-out to all community members who pitched in this year by buying a pair of Georgia Boots: “It would never be done without them and it’s because of them we’re increasing, growing.”
