Cole Kirst: Ralph Rotella, or better known as ‘the shoe guy’, is already at it. With last years shoe drive accumulating to thirty-four thousand pairs, he’s already collecting for this year. Rotella can repair any kind of footwear.
Ralph Rotella: “The funny thing this guy, they were so bad, when he walked in pick up his shoes, he said wow! That’s a beautiful job. Thank you very much.”
Kirst: Rotella has been repairing shoes for 52 years, the last 12 also for his shoe drive.
Rotella: “The first year we collected five pairs. I said wow that’s pretty good. The second years we got about 300. Third years we got 1,000 pairs oh wow, this going good.”
Kirst: Try better. Ralph collected in back to back years over 30,000 pairs of shoes.
Rotella: “That’s my goal to make everybody happy. Happy feet, happy home.”
Kirst: Less than one mile down the road, Rise Above Poverty founder and executive director Reggie Kelley, doesn’t collect shoes, but shares their mission regarding the donations they receive.
Kelley: “Our purpose is to help alleviate the effects of poverty on students so they can focus on their academics.”
Kirst: Deodorant, toothbrushes, socks, and laundry detergent are some of the items, that rise above poverty in Syracuse collects in order to help students.
Kelley: “So when we receive a phone call from one of the schools in the area, were able to come to the school, deliver those things that they need to help their students focus on their academics, and not the necessities they lack at home.”
Kirst: Whether its coats or shoes, both Reggie Kelley and Ralph Rotella are impacting the community. In Syracuse, Cole Kirst … N-C-C News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Discount Shoe Repair is known in the Syracuse community because of its owner; Ralph Rotella. It’s not only known for the service he provides, but for Rotella’s community efforts he started twelve years ago.
After an interaction with a homeless man who was shoeless, Rotella provided the person with proper sized footwear but thought more could be done. It began slow but Rotella started to collect shoes which would be donated to the Rescue Mission.
Donations piled in, increasing year after year until 2021, when Rotella hit his biggest number yet collecting 37,370 pairs of shoes. The number however wasn’t his goal.
“That’s my goal to make everybody happy,” Rotella says. “Happy feet, happy home.”
Less than one mile down the road from Discount Shoe Repair, Rise Above Poverty founder and executive director Reggie Kelley, doesn’t collect shoes, but shares their mission regarding the donations they receive.
“Our purpose is to help alleviate the effects of poverty on students so they can focus on their academics,” Kelley says.
Rise Above Poverty provides Syracuse City School District students the every day essentials that some lack. With the help of donations and collection drives, students are able to be provided these products.
“When we receive a call from one of the schools in the area, we’re able to come to the school, deliver those things that they need to help their students focus on their academics,” Kelley says.
Both Reggie Kelley and Ralph Rotella are community leaders giving back to the city of Syracuse.
