CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) — Friday was all about community helping community at Gibson Elementary School as students received a big surprise just before their Christmas break.
Corpus Christi-based Patel Law Firm donated money to buy every student at the school a new pair of shoes. That adds up to 420 pairs of sneakers for kids from Kindergarten through fifth grade.
Teachers took the kids to the cafeteria Friday for the big surprise. They said it was hard to keep a secret from all the students as they tried to guess shoe sizes.
"I really didn't think that they were going to give us shoes. I just thought that it was just a little gift that they were going to give us since it's Christmas time, except people can't afford to buy their own shoes," student Aribella De La Garza said. "And I thought it was just going to be a plain old gift, but it totally surprised me that it was shoes."
"I really can't describe how it makes you feel," Assistant Principal Joe Gonzales said. "It is a wonderful feeling to know that there are community members out there willing to help a school and become involved, and to do something great for our community. That's really what it's all about."
Teachers said they think some of the older kids eventually caught on when they were asked how big their feet were.
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