Project 300 gives new shoes to children in need

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Project 300 is an initiative organized by the nonprofit 'Ron N Shoot Sports' to collect 300 new pairs of shoes to give to underprivileged children in Durham.

Sherard Johnson, the president of Ron N Shoot, started the initiative in 2019 when he saw a need in the community.

"In 2019, I was an educator in the Durham public schools system, and we would see a lot of behavioral issues because of low self-esteem and not having adequate shoes and clothes, and so we started the initiative to aid in that and to help low self-esteem," Johnson said.

Project 300 collects new shoes to distribute so that the footwear will be in prime condition when given to a child.

"Progress has been pretty good. We have a lot of different shoes, a lot of nice shoes; Jordans, Yeezys, things like that so I mean it's been phenomenal. But again the goal is 300, but we would like to service about 1,000 kids." Johnson said while showing some of the shoes they've collected so far.

Project 300 began collecting shoes for this year's drive on July 5 and will continue until Aug. 10.

"People can donate by emailing rnssportsnc@gmail.com or they can reach out to us on any social media network at RNSSportsNC,'' Johnson said.

On Aug. 14, the Project 300 community event will be held in Durham.