Mike Koger fills many roles in this community and only one is as an elected official seeking reelection. As a member of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) board, Koger was asked to visit local school playgrounds and to interact with the students and teachers.
At the schools, Koger asked the teachers what the greatest student needs were and was told shoes and clothes. He said he then noticed the shoes on some of the kids were worn out, and school had just begun.
Knowing he wanted to do something for students, Koger contacted some of his friends and business partners. Beginning with a goal of $6,000, Koger asked one of the school counselors from his visits how many pairs of shoes would be a good start. The response was 50 pairs.
Koger called Shoe Stop owner Mark Shively to see if his business could help. Shively signed on to the project and contacted his vendors. He explained the need for discounted shoes and secured some closeout deals to be for Koger’s mission.
“This amounted to 350 pairs of shoes with three pairs of socks for each of those 50 kids,” Koger said.
Koger then contacted more business partners, companies and friends, securing $7,000 to distribute to seven local schools — East View, Meadow Lands, Southern Oaks and Whitesville in the Daviess County Public Schools and Cravens, Estes and Foust in Owensboro Public Schools.
“Mike Koger did not do this, Mike Koger just had an idea,” Koger said. “All I asked was for those making contributions to make the checks to Shoe Stop and I would get them there; that was my responsibility.”
Students from each school were selected, based on need, to visit Shoe Stop to receive new shoes.
Two DCPS schools went on Monday and Tuesday.
The students lined up to be sized, the employee wrote down their size on a note, and another took them to shoes that would fit. Anxious smiles were on the faces of those waiting their turn to get shoes.
Koger said he overheard some kids saying this was the first time they had received a new pair of shoes and that they had never been to this store for shoes.
“They were able to pick a pair of shoes in their size to wear back to school and the socks were given to them later,” Koger said.
Wednesday night, the three OPS schools — 150 kids — will be at Shoe Stop with all employees helping size the children’s feet.
“I saw a need and this gives me a starting point,” Koger said. “The smiles on their faces, that’s what it’s about.”
