As she helped load boxes and bags of sneakers, sandals, boots and other footwear onto a Rescue Mission truck this morning, volunteer Mary Beth Gusano reflected on the spirit of giving in Central New York.
“People with souls have some to spare,” Gusano said.
That spirit helped Ralph Rotella’s annual Christmas shoe drive bring in a new record number of pairs this year. The 38,841 pairs broke the record of 37,370 set in 2021.
Each year, Rotella collects, cleans and repairs donated shoes at his shop, Discount Shoe Repair, at 114 E. Washington St. in downtown Syracuse. They are then picked up by the Syracuse Rescue Mission, which gives many to the homeless people and other clients it serves, and sells others to raise money in its Thrifty Shopper stores. Any that can’t be used, usually fewer than 10%, are recycled.
This is the 13th year Rotella has run the drive. In its first year, he collected 35 pairs. This year’s collections bring the grand total to 211,709 since the drive began.
“With luck, we can get to a quarter of a million next year,” said Randy Beach, Rotella’s friend, helper and chief cheerleader for the drive. “That means a lot of people who need shoes are getting them.”
Mackenzie Naum, Director of Major Gifts for the Rescue Mission in Syracuse holds the total number of shoes donated this year as volunteers help load up over 38,841 pairs of shoes, a record for Ralph Rotella's annual shoe drive in Syracuse for the Rescue Mission's Thursday, December 14, 2023.N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com
This year also saw a good number of donated footwear for kids, but there’s always a need, Rotella said.
“We never have enough kids’ shoes,” Rotella said. “That’s what we need.”
Rotella said he plans to continue the shoe drive as long as he can, and credited his many friends and supporters for their help. He gave special thanks to the crew at Fox 68, and general manager Don O’Connor, for helping spread the word with public service announcements each year.
One of the long-time volunteers is Mudd Murphy, the former mayor of Oswego (and now the deputy mayor). He likes to remind people that the benefits Rotella’s shoe drive extend beyond Syracuse and Onondaga County.
“We have a lot of people donating in Oswego and the towns and villages in Oswego County,” Murphy said while helping load the truck today. “And people know they (the Rescue Mission) help people up in Oswego, too.”
Each year, Rotella personally cleans and repairs the shoes in his spare time (when he’s not doing so for paying customers), and donates space in his shop for the donations. The Rescue Mission comes out every three months during the year to pick up the repaired shoes.
Rotella, who was 16 when he immigrated from Italy to Syracuse with his family in 1970, has often told about how he was inspired to start the shoe drive: He once saw a homeless person outside his shop window walking in the cold “with his toe sticking out of his shoe” and decided to help him out.
Volunteers help load up over 38,000 shoes, a record for Ralph Rotella's annual shoe drive in Syracuse for the Rescue Mission's Thursday, December 14, 2023.N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syra
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.