Dean Ross, owner of the Doc Shoppe shoe store in Red Bank, gave away 629 pairs of new shoes to borough schoolchildren over two Sundays in September, events that drew lines of families down Broad Street. On Wednesday night, Mayor Pasquale Menna and the borough council honored Ross, seen above with his wife, Sharon, for his generosity. The giveaway “really thrilled and touched a lot of people,” Councilman Ed Zipprich told Ross.
“I got more hugs and high-fives those days,” Ross said. “It was worth it.”
Ross, himself a product of the borough school system, tells redbankgreen he’s not finished. With about 100 pairs of surplus shoes, he said he plans to double back to the borough schools to see who he missed – and hopes to find a donor to throw in gloves for the kids, too. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
