Pangea Properties, through its 501c3 arm Pangea Cares, continued its partnership with Operation Warm, donating $7,000 and 20 volunteers to provide new shoes for youth in Chicago.
Chicago, IL, August 14, 2021 –(PR.com)– Expanding a partnership started in 2017, Chicago-based Pangea Properties (Pangea) worked with Operation Warm and SGA Youth & Family Services last month for a Summer Kicks shoe drive. Through its nonprofit 501c3 community service arm, Pangea Cares, Pangea helped distribute new shoes to Chicagoans in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
In the past, Pangea has participated in Operation Warm’s annual winter coat drive, an initiative that has been providing thousands of winter coats to children in public housing for over 22 years. Last year, Operation Warm created Warm Soles to provide new shoes as well, gifting over 30,000 new pairs to date.
On Wednesday July 28, 20 Pangea volunteers gathered at the parking lot of the SGA Youth & Family Services center at 3152 W. 47th St. in Chicago. Families with toddlers and young children picked up brand-new shoes and received a swag bag from Pangea with fun items for the children like bubbles, hacky sacks and sunglasses. While waiting to pick out shoes, volunteers played games with the children like hopscotch and ring toss and led a fun card game for larger prizes.
“Thanks to great corporate partners like Pangea, Operation Warm has been able to expand its impact in the Chicago region and across North America,” said Rich Lalley, partnership director with Operation Warm. “The pandemic increased greatly the number of in-need families, and we are so grateful that Pangea stepped up to bring Summer Kicks to Chicago’s South Side.”
One Pangea volunteer, senior HR analyst Ashley Carter, especially enjoyed “helping the little kids figure out their shoe size and which color they wanted, because we all know how nice it is to have on a fresh pair of new kicks.”
Pangea was proud to donate $7,000 in new shoes for the event and looks forward to continuing the partnership with Operation Warm for many years to come.