Back to School Starts with a Pair of Shoes with Shawn Spurrier | FaithFi
September 10, 2026
Back to School Starts with a Pair of Shoes with Shawn Spurrier
Faith & Finance with Rob West
For millions of vulnerable children around the world, a pair of shoes can mean far more than having something new to wear. It can mean the difference between going to school and staying home, between greater protection from disease and continued exposure, and even between feeling forgotten and knowing someone cares.
That’s why FaithFi is partnering with Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls throughout September, a ministry of Buckner International, to help provide new shoes and socks to children in need around the world.
Shawn Spurrier, Director of Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, joined the show today to explain why something as ordinary as a pair of shoes can have such an extraordinary impact.
For millions of vulnerable children around the world, a pair of shoes can mean far more than having something new to wear. It can mean the difference between going to school and staying home, between greater protection from disease and continued exposure, and even between feeling forgotten and knowing someone cares.
That’s why FaithFi is partnering with Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls throughout September, a ministry of Buckner International, to help provide new shoes and socks to children in need around the world.Shawn Spurrier, Director of Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, joined the show today to explain why something as ordinary as a pair of shoes can have such an extraordinary impact.
Removing a Barrier to Education
For most families in the United States, buying shoes is simply part of getting children ready for school. But in many parts of the world, adequate footwear is required to attend class.
According to Spurrier, an estimated 300 million children worldwide lack access to adequate footwear, and tens of millions may miss school as a result. In many countries, children cannot attend school without shoes.
That makes a pair of shoes more than a practical gift. It can help remove a barrier to education and give a child greater opportunity to rise above poverty.
Shoes also provide important protection from cuts, injuries, parasites, and footborne diseases. For children living in vulnerable communities, those protections can make a meaningful difference in their health and daily lives.
The impact goes beyond education and physical health.
When children receive new shoes, they may also gain a greater sense of dignity and confidence. Proper footwear can help reduce some of the social stigma children experience because of poverty or illness.
Most importantly, Buckner sees every pair of shoes as an opportunity to communicate Christ's love.
Since 1999, Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls has collected and distributed approximately 5.25 million pairs of shoes in 86 countries. Today, Buckner maintains programming in the United States and several countries throughout Latin America and Africa, including Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
A pair of shoes may seem like a small piece of a much larger effort to strengthen vulnerable families. But small acts of generosity can open doors to deeper relationships and lasting transformation.
When a Pair of Shoes Says, “You Are Not Forgotten”
Spurrier shared the story of a young girl named Romina, whom Buckner served near Oaxaca, Mexico.
Romina was about six years old when she attended a shoe distribution at one of Buckner’s Family Hope Centers. During the distribution, volunteers washed her feet, talked with her, and reminded her that God loved her and cared for her.
As Romina received her new shoes, she began to cry.
At first, Spurrier wondered if something was wrong. But a Buckner family coach explained that Romina was simply overwhelmed that someone had thought enough of her to give her a new pair of shoes.
The story didn’t end with the distribution.
Romina’s family became connected with the local Family Hope Center and embraced the support offered there. Over time, their circumstances changed. Romina, once shy and anxious, became a leader in her after-school programs, reaching out to children who felt excluded and even praying with other students. Her family eventually reached greater economic and spiritual stability and began volunteering with Buckner to encourage other families.
It’s a reminder that we rarely know how God may use a simple act of generosity.
A pair of shoes met an immediate physical need. But it also helped communicate something deeper: You are seen. You are loved. You have not been forgotten.
More Than a One-Time Gift
Buckner’s ministry doesn’t simply distribute shoes and leave.
In many of the communities where it serves, Buckner operates Family Hope Centers that provide ongoing, Christ-centered support designed to help families move toward greater stability. The ministry also works alongside local churches and trusted community partners to connect families with resources and relationships that extend beyond the initial shoe distribution.
Each pair of shoes also includes an encouraging message reminding the child of God’s love. In some communities, distributions are accompanied by Scripture, Bibles, Vacation Bible School programs, and opportunities for children and families to hear the gospel.
That long-term approach matters.
Meeting a practical need can become the beginning of a relationship. And as children and families experience both tangible care and spiritual encouragement, the impact can spread throughout an entire community.
Every $15 provides a child with a new pair of shoes and socks and helps cover the cost of getting them where they are needed. A gift of $150 can provide shoes and socks for 10 children.
It’s a simple gift, but its impact can reach much further.
A pair of shoes can help a child walk into a classroom. It can protect against injury and disease. It can restore dignity and confidence. And through Buckner’s ministry, it can become a tangible expression of the love of Jesus Christ.
If you’d like to join FaithFi and Buckner in reaching 1,000 children this September, visit GiveShoesToday.org.
On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:
My pension ends when I die, and I want to protect my wife and special-needs son. I already have a special needs trust for my son and am considering about $1 million of term life insurance, possibly using a laddered strategy so coverage decreases over time. Does that make sense, and how should I balance life insurance with investing for their future?
I’ll reach full Social Security retirement age next June and plan to keep working, earning about $60,000 a year. If I start Social Security at full retirement age, can I continue working and receive my full benefit without an earnings limit?
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