When Carrie Jernigan took her soon-to-be fourth grader shopping for shoes, she didn’t expect to come home with the entire store. However, that’s exactly what happened!
The Arkansas mom, like many of us parents, decided to take advantage of Payless’ going-out-of-business sale. Even though her initial intention was to score discounted shoes for her daughter Harper, Jernigan realized she could do so much more.
According to NBC affiliate KNWA in Fayetteville, Harper saw a pair of Avengers shoes and asked her mother to buy them for a classmate. So what did the mom do? Jernigan told KNWA, “I’m not going to be able to figure out his size because of the time of the year… so I looked at the clerk jokingly and just asked, “how much for the rest of the shoes in here?” Just joking.” But as it turns out, Jernigan wasn’t joking.
Jernigan bought 95 boxes of 1,500 pairs of shoes, in sizes from newborns through men’s 13—for babies, children and adults in need! It looks like this mama’s awesomeness is an inspiration to the community around her. Affiliates of local business, churches and other organizations donated free eye exams, haircuts, school supplies and their services to help families in Jernigan’s local River Valley.
The mom who started it all added, “That’s what it’s all about. In the grand scheme of things in this country, this is one tiny blip, but if it continues to grow––and it just it makes you do one little thing for that student fixing to go back to school—it matters to that one kid.”
—Erica Loop
Featured photo: Mike Mozart via Flickr
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