The collaborative spirit within Lowell is unmatched. I am confident of that based on conversations I have had with other Chambers throughout New England and the Commonwealth.
Today I met with the City’s CASE (Cultural Affairs and Special Events) and Economic Development offices, as well as the Lowell Plan, to discuss ways we can best promote Downtown Lowell (DTL) businesses during City of Lights, the holiday season, and Winterfest. Meetings to discuss the 2023 Lowell Folk Festival have been happening regularly and last Thanksgiving I was able to raise $45,000 for the Merrimack Valley Food Bank during the Thanksgiving season due to the generosity of Lowellians.
And these are just a few examples…
Why am I writing about this? Because I have an ask (you’ll come to find I have a lot of asks, so please bare with me!).
A few weeks ago I was with my cousin who is an amazing teacher (shout out to Lauren Trombly) at the Greenhalge Elementary School located in the Centralville section of the City. She was talking about how the Lowell Police Department Youth Services were coming to the school for after-school programming but many students didn’t have sneakers to participate. This is where the Sneaker and Boot Drive comes into play…
The next day I reached out to Councilor Corey Robinson to ask if he’d like to collaborate on the drive to ensure that all Greenhalge students have sneakers (and why not add winter boots to the equation?!). Immediately Councilor Robinson said yes (no surprise to those of you who know him) and brought Father Chris from St. Michael Parish into the fold.
A message from the Greenhalge Elementary School demonstrating the need:
“Hello on behalf of the Greenhalge Elementary School in Lowell! As you may know, we are an elementary school in lower Centralville serving approximately 500 students; preschool through grade four. 88% of our student population is considered economically disadvantaged and we are proud to say that there are 17 different languages spoken at home by our school’s diverse families. We are also the elementary school that serves a high number of students/families who are considered homeless. Our school has four classrooms serving students with autism and many of our classrooms serve “newcomer” students who are recent immigrants or refugees. Our school is one of Lowell’s finest and we are excited to work with the community to support our families and students!”
What exactly are we looking for? New or gently used sneakers and winter boots in youth sizes (students range from Pre-K through 4th grade).
Donate here!
How can you help?
- Spread the word by sharing this article
- Ship your donation to Greenhalge Elementary School (149 Ennell Street Lowell MA 01850)
- Drop off bins are located at St. Michael Parish (543 Bridge Street) and St. Michael School (21 6th Street) through November 5, 2022
- Donate online at
- Contact Danielle McFadden (dmcfadden@greaterlowellchamber.org) or Corey Robinson (corey@coreyforlowell.com) to make arrangements.
Technically this Sneaker and Boot Drive runs through this Saturday, November 5th, but we want to make sure every student has what they need so please reach out after or donate online if that date doesn’t work for you!
Thank you in advance for your help!
