One shoe and one coat at a time, Teresa Carter is making a difference

By Rasheedah Ajibade

Teresa Carter, barber and owner of Going Forward Barbershop and Beauty Salon, is always willing to lend a helping hand. A faithful member of Memorial Baptist Church and leader of the HIV/AIDS ministry, when Carter identifies a need in the community, she uses the resources around her and invites others to be involved in being a solution.

In 2019, her son Jeshae Sumbry, a shoe lover who started his own brand Yung Angel, remembered his early days and how his peers felt when they didn’t have nice shoes. He decided he wanted to do something about that. So, he started a shoe drive every year collecting and donating at least 100 pairs of shoes, sometimes more, to for children at various schools, community organizations, and homeless shelters.

Carter always assisted with the effort, but a few years ago, when Sumbry moved out of state, he asked his mother to continue the work. She had already helped with the project before, so she was no stranger to how the program worked or how to collaborate with schools. “One day, I was doing a shoe delivery at Lincoln School, and a little girl came into the office with the social worker. It was August and she was wearing knee-high winter boots that had a hole in them. When they said her name, because it was unique, I remembered her being on the list, and pointed to the shoe box that was for her. In that moment, I knew that I was doing what I was supposed to do,” said Carter.

Oftentimes, necessities like shoes are a need that is overlooked, but for many low-income families, decent, comfortable shoes for their children are a luxury they simply cannot afford. Lizzie Raben, Youth First Social Worker at Fairlawn School, says they actively work with families to support students and keep a resource center onsite stocked with clothing, hygiene products, and school supplies. They also participate in the Tristate Food Bank’s backpack program, where students are given non-perishable food items to ensure they have something to eat over the weekend. “Parents don’t want to ask for help, so the teachers and administrators work as a team to figure out what supports the families need, and then we will reach out and offer the help. Laundry detergent is a high need,” said Raben.

This month, Carter collected enough donations and shoes to distribute 25 pairs to five schools. The schools provided a list with student names and their sizes—mostly Title I schools: Fairlawn, Lincoln, Culver, Glenwood, and Lodge. With the support of her church, family, friends, and salon clients, Carter collected over 100 pairs of shoes. The extra pairs were given to schools to put in their resource shops as needs arise. Next on her list is a coat drive, to ensure that students in need have a warm coat this winter. One shoe and one coat at a time, Teresa Carter is making a difference.

But the need goes deeper than boxes of shoes or coats, and eligibility for free and reduced-price meals is an indicator of that.  According to the Indiana Department of Education School and Nutrition Program data, in the 2024-2025 school year, about 74% of EVSC students qualified for free or reduced-price meals. Children qualify if their household income falls below certain limits. For 2025-26, that looks like:

• Family of 2
  • Free meals: $2,292/month or less
  • Reduced-price meals: up to $3,261/month
• Family of 4
  • Free meals: $3,483/month or less
  • Reduced-price meals: up to $4,957/month

That means thousands of EVSC students walk into classrooms each day carrying not just netbooks, but the burden that comes with financial hardship. Title I schools, including Fairlawn, Glenwood, Lincoln, Lodge, and others, receive federal funding to help close achievement gaps tied to poverty. Still, the reality shows up in small but telling ways—a pair of shoes too tight, a coat not warm enough, or a backpack that doubles as food for the weekend.