Setting Up for Lace Up 2025

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – This year’s annual Lace Up for Kids give-a-way will take place this Tuesday from 9 until 5 at the Colony Square Mall. 

The event has grown over the 37 years to include shoes, socks, clothing, hair cuts, health fair and more, which requires a team of volunteers to coordinate, set up and distribute.

“Today is moving day. We take the shoes that we’ve purchased, we have over 1,300 pairs of shoes that we’re going to be choosing from for the 955 kids that have signed up for this event. And moving day means that we bring all the shoes here, we set them up so there’s an efficient pattern. So we’re trying out new configurations, learning as we go. But we have a big beautiful space, we love that it’s all on one floor and so we’re just trying to see how we fit in the back end of the Elder Beerman building,” Lace Up for Kids Co-Chair Sue Thuma said.

The West Muskingum High School Soccer team was on hand to help set up tables and chairs before carrying in and organizing the items to be given away. A group of Senior teammates took a moment to explain their participation in the community service event.  

“It was just giving back to our community and it’s honestly something awesome. We’ve all been doing it since our Freshman year, so it’s really great to be able to give back too,” West Muskingum Senior Soccer Team Member Jaxson Prang said.

The recipient families signed up for the event last month and were assigned a designated time to pick up their items so that the give-a-way can flow in a more orderly fashion.