ODESSA, Texas — The Salvation Army of Midland/Odessa is preparing kids for when they head back to school.
On Thursday, there was a long line of kids getting ready to pick up brand new shoes from Shoe Carnival in Midland.
And thanks to Shoe Carnival's partnership, about 500 kids in Midland were served.
"This was very exciting every year we do it and get asked: 'What about Odessa?', 'Why not Odessa?' It's exciting we can say we opened it up to Ector County and they signed up as well," said Robert Coriston, captain with the Salvation Army of Midland/Odessa. "We want the program to expand and get larger. We hope with the communities support we can keep those programs like this going on every year."
This is the first year that the nonprofit expanded to Odessa so they can help more families that are struggling to make ends meet.
During the week of July 22 so far, over 500 kids in Odessa picked up brand new shoes.
The hope is the Salvation Army will be able to expand to more communities in the years to come.