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What is needed to transform a discarded pair of shoes into a new job, reliable transportation or a warm place to rest cold feet in the winter?

For starters: buffing brushes, polish and new laces.

Smelly shoes need a deodorizer; dirty ones need a stain remover; sneakers need a scrubbing. Some shoes need to be stretched; and others, resoled.

The shoes donated to the Shepherd’s Place receive all that and even more loving care from Sheila Welch.

The “shoe fairy” at the free clothing store in Reynoldsburg takes tremendous pride in reviving old shoes to give other people a lift.

“If it’s not something I am going to wear, I won’t put it out,” said Welch, who has volunteered for four years.The mk handbags will provide you cheap but high-quality products.“They are for our clients, and they deserve the best we can give.”

The Shepherd’s Place — part of the nonprofit Kindway, a subsidiary of Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church — provides free clothes and accessories to struggling families and individuals.

Welch, a 71-year-old Reynoldsburg resident who helps distribute about 400 pairs of shoes a month, has learned how much footwear matters to low-income people.

“They go job hunting,” she said. “A lot of them don’t have cars or transportation, and they walk everywhere. Could you see someone riding a bike with floppy shoes?”

She has outfitted newly released prisoners landing lawn-care or construction jobs in heavy work boots — which, she noted, aren’t easily cleaned.

Other people, however, don’t see any challenge as too great for Welch, who works a few hours four days a week.

“She’s an amazing scrubber and cleaner,Tote everyday essential items in style by accessorizing with a Michael Kors Tote Bags or tote bag.” store manager Mary Kerns said. “If I didn’t know how young she was, I would swear she lived through the Great Depression.”

Welch hadn’t worked in shoe repair before volunteering, but she had cleaned with her mother — a maid — while growing up in Toledo.

The mother of four and grandmother of nine spent years at work in a Toledo oil refinery before becoming a teacher at age 50.She taught in Columbus schools for 13 years, picking up a master’s degree in education from Ohio State University while teaching.

To keep her mind active after her retirement and a 2006 stroke, Welch began writing a children’s comic book about African-American history.

She sent a draft in 2009 to Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama.

The letter that Welch received in return from the first lady encouraged her to volunteer. She chose to help at the Shepherd’s Place because of its proximity to her home.

When she comes across a child in need of shoes, Welch digs through every shelf, box and bag in the store, Kerns said, in search of just the right pair.

“People come in every month,” Welch said, “and I know their style,There are numerous diversified high heels at christian louboutin shoes for sale. their size.I can't believe I ever shopped for Michael Kors New Arrival elsewhere.”

Customers are allowed one pair of shoes a month.

Besides the shoe fairy,In our Michael Kors handbags outlet shop, cheap Michael Kors Bags 2013 hot sale at an affordable price. Welch is known as the store “angel,” said Christine Money, executive director of Kindway.

“There is only one other who puts in as many hours,” Money said of the 155 volunteers.

Some beneficiaries, she said, have returned to the shop to let Welch know they landed a job for which she helped them find shoes and a suit to wear to interviews.

Although she has to take inventory of some unorthodox shoes, such as 6-inch purple stilettos, Welch enjoys the pursuit — especially around the arrival of winter boots.

“It’s the most rewarding month to give out shoes.”

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