It’s a “Shoe” In
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It’s a “Shoe” In
Photos by Ruthie Mullett
Debbie Terry and Ernie Brewster along with other volunteers with their initiative, “Healing Souls with Hope,” provides new shoes to Scott County’s school-aged students, Grades K-12.
Local Couple provides footwear for County students
By Shane Gilreath
According to the National Retail Foundation, the average American home spent $850 on back to school shopping last year. For many already in a challenging 
economy, it’s funding that’s not often available in lieu of day to day expenses. For one local couple – Debbie Terry and Ernie Brewster – that’s where the tentacles of charity take hold. Every year, their initiative, “Healing Souls with Hope,” provides new shoes to Scott County’s school-aged students, Grades K-12. As of last week, those shoes had arrived in Scott County. In fact, 30 cases of shoes. So many shoes that the couple filled a personal RV with shipping boxes to personally haul them and save on shipping, allowing them to allocate extra funds to begin the 2026 program. But, as of this year, the deed is done. “We can’t order anymore shoes,” Terry told SCN. “We’ll be calling the parents in the next two weeks.” Those calls, of course, will notify families that they’ve been chosen – and that’s how it will ultimately be done, start to finish. “A lot of phone calls are coming and people are getting confused,” Terry confessed.
Like many charities, Healing Souls relies solely on donations. Because of the nature of donations, which ebb and flow, the organization is unable to provide for every family, every year, despite the number of calls or the desire to do so. This year, the couple were able to order 270 pairs of shoes, down from the 476 last year. Despite a prominent assumption, Healing Souls is not affiliated with any church or denomination, rather, Terry says, the organization hopes that all churches feel the need to give.
“The more money we have, the more shoes we can buy,” Terry told SCN in February. To make the charity work, hands are needed. As the day of giveaway gets closer, hands may be most important.
“We also need volunteers at Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, August 2nd,” Terry says, telling SCN that for the next two weeks, Healing Souls will be sorting shoes and attaching names to each pair, assuring that each child chosen receives an appropriate pair of shoes. Those looking to serve alongside the charity can be assured a blessing. “Nothing warms my heart like seeing the kids come in and get the shoes with a smile on their face,” Brewster said.
While the service has closed for this year, the organization expects to soon announce a date for preparations to begin the 2026 giveaway. That will be the time for financial contributions.
“We are doing it next year. We usually start in September or October,” Terry assured, telling a story of how a tax exemption saved $1,000 and provided a surplus for 2026. “God just blessed us so we can do it again next year.”
But the organization sees its mission about something greater than just shoes, important as they are in young minds and development. “It’s not just about today, it’s about setting children up for a better future,” the couple said. Terry and Brewster’s goal is not simply to change a child – though that’s a significant component – they’re really changing society, providing a hand up, changing opportunities, one shoe at a time.
