Our Community. Our Schools. Our Children.

For a child, putting on a pair of shoes that fits can be the key to starting the day on a positive note. Hundreds of children in Bexar County live in poverty and confront challenges on a daily basis. Putting on a pair of shoes that fit should not be a challenge for students. We hope that you can join us to make a difference in a child’s life. Contact us to see how you can help.

Bexar County has one of the highest percentages of children living in poverty in the country. In many Bexar County school districts, as many as up to 92% of the children qualify for free or reduced lunch. This is an indication of the level of poverty in our county’s schools. These kids need shoes in order to participate in sports, ROTC, after school/work programs, high school graduation ceremonies and especially daily use. Not having a proper pair of shoes limits their participation in opportunities offered to children by the school system and society.

Zapatos was founded in 2015 and started providing shoes in 2016 when we received our 501(c)(3). Over 300 students were served the first year, over 700 the second year and over 2000 the third year. COVID slowed us down a bit but we got back on track for the 2022-23 school year – we distributed 5200 pairs of shoes.