200 Pairs of Surplus Military Boots Donated to Homeless in Atlanta to Brighten Holidays

Hosea Williams III/DVIDSHUB

Nearly 200 pairs of surplus military boots were donated to a homeless charity in Atlanta, Georgia, late July. The boots were received at the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services site in Warner Robins.

The footwear is set to help the charity Hosea Helps Feed The Hungry and Homeless, which is working alongside another nonprofit group, Yes We Can. Hosea Williams III, who runs the charity, commented on what was their first pickup. “[O]ur experience was great,” he said, according to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

Disposal service representative LaVette Rush (L) and customer Hosea Williams (R) as he accepts 189 pairs of boots at DLA Disposition Services at Warner Robins July 28 that will be used to help the homeless. Sammie Sanders/DLA Disposition Services/DVIDSHUB

He added, “Men don’t normally donate shoes, and if they do they are usually worn out.” He said that the staff member who distributes clothing at the group’s holiday dinners—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Martin Luther King Day—wanted the boots for her clients.

“When she saw the boots, she was so happy. She did, however, allow me to take some for our Hosea on the Move Homeless outreach,” said Williams. The boots were taken around Atlanta and given to local homeless and people in need at bridges and a homeless park.

A man in need tries on a pair of military boots from the Hosea On the Move program Aug. 18 after the group received 189 pairs from DLA Disposition Services at Warner Robins, Georgia. Hosea Williams III/DVIDSHUB

LaVette Rush, a property disposal specialist at the DLA, spoke about the donation. The 189 pairs of boots that were donated would be divided up, with some to be handed out immediately and some to be gifted during future holiday dinners for the homeless.

“I have been told that they usually don’t have a lot of shoes for men during those dinners, and that the amount that they received is amazing and much needed,” he said. “It was amazing knowing that those boots would be going to people who need and appreciate the smaller things.”

Hosea Helps of Atlanta has been helping people in need since 1971. You can find out more about them on Facebook and on their website.

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