Lynnea Montgomery was only 2 years old when she started helping people in need.
By the time she was 7, Lynnea had raised $338 to buy winter clothes and food to donate.
After using the $338 for donations two years ago, Lynnea started raising money all over again.
With the help of members from Tucson’s Rising Star Baptist Church, her grandmother’s clients at a local hair salon, good Samaritans and her own allowances, Lynnea, now 9, has raised $448 over the past two years — just in time for Thanksgiving.
But money just wasn’t enough. Lynnea wanted to take it a step further.
“Every Thanksgiving, my church will feed the homeless and give them hats, socks and gloves,” she says. “Last year, I was in a section with a bucket of shoes, but there were only four pairs.”
She says she felt really bad and told her grandmother that she wanted to donate shoes the following Thanksgiving.
Now a year later, that’s exactly what she’s doing.
“It was just in my heart,” she says, adding that her grandparents, Vivian and Randy Montgomery, have also helped inspire her.
In May, Lynnea hand-wrote flyers asking for shoe donations.
Her grandmother drove her to UPS to get copies printed — and even the UPS employee was so moved by Lynnea’s endeavors that he gave the Montgomery family a discount.
Fast-forward six months, and Lynnea now has close to 200 pairs of colorful tennis shoes cluttering her backyard. Some are big-name brands.
Some look brand new.
Even Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Alex Verdugo, who is from Tucson, caught word of Lynnea’s project and donated three big bags of shoes, Vivian says.
Lynnea Montgomery washed and sanitized each pair of shoes — some of which are big-name brands — using washing machines at a laundromat.
Lynnea has washed and sanitized all 200 pairs of shoes — loading them into washing machines at a laundromat.
“She did it all herself,” Vivian says. “All I did was drive her there.”
Lynnea will pass the shoes out to folks at a local park on Thanksgiving Day. She also will pass out food with members from her church, in addition to the winter clothes purchased with the money she raised.
“It feels awesome that I can help someone who doesn’t have what I have,” Lynnea says. “People need clothes on their back and shoes on their feet.”
Lynnea adds that she loves animals, so her money also went toward dog food to donate.
Beyond the shoes and items bought with the money Lynnea raised, the church has lots more to donate, Vivian says.
And Lynnea’s generosity definitely won’t stop after this Thanksgiving.
Lynnea and her grandmother plan to keep in their car any shoes that are not given out on Thanksgiving. If they pass by anyone in need, they’ll stop and offer them a pair.
Plus, Lynnea has already started raising money for next Thanksgiving.
“I can’t believe she’s already started for next year,” Vivian says. “She is so sincere. I feel like a proud mom.”
Grandmother Vivian Montgomery is proud of her granddaughter Lynnea Montgomery, 9, who has always been one to share and care for others.
