Having a sister who taught for over 30 years and speaking with teachers and social workers, I realized there was an acute need for footwear among the poor. Many teachers purchase shoes for their students who do not want to participate in activities because of the lack of footwear. In many cases students will not attend their graduation because they do not have shoes to wear. My vision for the next five years is to grow large enough so that no student, within our reach, will go without proper footwear. What makes Zapatos special is that with our all-volunteer staff of eight, we are able to deliver each pair of shoes to the school within one or two days after the request. Zapatos was founded in 2015 and started providing shoes in 2016 when we got our 501c3. Over 300 students were served in 2016, 703 in 2017, and approximately 200 pairs of shoes in the first two months of 2018. Zapatos, Inc. works with SAISD and all surrounding school districts to reach out to children that have a need for footwear. Most of our referrals come from teachers, counselors, social workers and the PFLs. Our goal is to help put footwear on approximately 850 or more needy children in the 2018-1019 school year.