By John Burton
RED BANK – There isn’t much that is free in this life, but the owner of a downtown shoe store saw to it that about 600 Red Bank children got something for free – and he got a little bit in return.
Dean Ross, who owns the Doc Shoppe that has been at 43 Broad St. since April, gave away about 600 pairs of shoes over two Sunday mornings, Sept. 21 and 28.
“It really was about giving back” to the town where he grew up, Ross said.
“I’m Jewish and in our religion, improving the world, giving back, is part of what we do,” he said.
Ross’ shop had been located on River Road in Fair Haven. When he closed that shop and opened in Red Bank, the business focus was changed. He wasn’t going to sell children’s shoes any longer and intended the new location to be “a Soho/New York-type of boutique” for adult shoes, specializing in Doc Martens and Birkenstock brands, he said.
That left him with hundreds of pairs of children’s shoes. A wholesale broker approached Ross about buying up the inventory, but “rather than sell them, this was a better way,” he said. “This way I knew the kids would have good footwear.”
Ross, who lives in Lincroft, said he grew up in Red Bank, went to the local schools and always maintained a connection. “My roots are here,” he said.
Doc Shoppe on Broad Street to receive free shoes. Owner Dean Ross gave away about 600 pairs of children’s shoes during the past two Sundays.
Ross contacted Superintendent of Schools Jared Rumage about his shoe giveaway proposal. Rumage and other school administrators sent fliers home in English and Spanish to accommodate the large Hispanic population enrolled in the district schools. Ross also requested Spanish-speaking volunteers to help with the distribution.
Ross said he converted his store into a sort of warehouse with the boxes of shoes stacked everywhere. He had planned to give shoes away from 8 to 11 a.m., allowing him to have the store ready for his regular business when it opened at noon.
Families began showing up at about 7 a.m., he said.
Along with the shoes, Ross approached four area dentists he knows, who contributed toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss, which Ross and the volunteers distributed to the kids and their families with each pair of shoes.
At the end of the day, there were about 12 children, whose sizes had run out. “I didn’t want to disappoint anyone,” he said, so he took their names and phone numbers and will be sure they get shoes, even if he has to buy them himself.
“This was a very positive thing,” he said.
His payment? “I got more hugs and high-fives and saw more children’s smiles than you can imagine. It was priceless,” he said.
After his day was over, his wife, Sharyn, asked him what kind of day he had, Ross said.
“Wonderful,” he responded.
This may not be the end of the giveaway. “I may be doing something with sandals in the warm weather,” he said.
The borough’s public school population is made up of close to 90 percent of students who qualify for a free and reduced lunch program, a traditional indicator of lower income families.
The gesture “benefits all the kids, regardless of what school they go to in Red Bank,” Board of Education President Ben Forest said. “Obviously, having our students with proper footwear is going to make a big difference in terms of their day-to-day success in any endeavor and I’m grateful we have such a wonderful community that supports our kids in many unique ways.”
