Spirit Squad participates in the Goodie Two Shoes Charity in Vegas

The Utah State University Spirit Squad helped about 400 inner-city kids get new shoes and school supplies at the Thomas and Mack Center in Vegas on March 11.

Every year during the Mountain West Basketball Tournament (more commonly known as MW March Madness) the spirit squads from every team participates in a charity event. This year the charity event was provided by the Goodie Two Shoes Foundation.

The foundation collects shoes and socks along with school supplies donated by both private and corporate companies and gives them to disadvantaged kids. It has so far provided shoes for around 70,000 kids. For this particular event 400 inner-city kids were bussed in from Ruby Thomas Elementary School and given new shoes as well as the chance to watch one of the basketball games.

“Last time I got new shoes was in third grade, so I really need some new ones,” said Andies, a fifth grade student at Ruby Thomas.

The goal of the event included more than just getting new shoes to kids who really needed them.

“This is another way of reaching them to get them to see another aspect of college,” said Nikki Berti, the founder of the Goodie Two Shoes Foundation.

In a study done by the New York Times it was found that less than 30 percent of students in the bottom quarter of incomes enroll in a four-year college. Among that group, less than 50 percent graduate. Many of the teachers of the Ruby Thomas students hoped that this event could help change those numbers for the better.

“This bridges a gap because they see this stuff on televisions and in magazines, and it helps them understand what it takes to get there,” said Govanni Lazzarotto, a fourth grade teacher at Ruby Thomas.

The event was organized by having different spirit squads from every school participating in the tournament take shifts and help measure their foot size, then give them six new pairs of socks and help them choose new shoes. Finally, the kids were able to go through and pick out a new backpack as well as some fan gear provided by the schools attending. In addition, the different squads taught the kids some of their cheers as well as helped them do different stunts.

“I think by doing this it provides them a good example… it’s also cool that we can put the sporting events aside and just help some of these kids,” said Blake Germaine, a member of the USU Cheer Team.

As for the kids, the event really helped them get excited about going to college one day.

“When I go to college I want to play football and be a cheerleader and play basketball,” said Militza, who is currently a fifth grade student at Ruby Thomas Elementary.

— shaniehoward214@gmail.com