SPOKANE, Wash. — Hundreds of local student-athletes now have new pairs of high-end running shoes thanks to an event being held at The Podium.

Fleet Feet store owners and managers are in Spokane for a national convention this week. They want to give back to the community, so they teamed up with shoe-maker Saucony to provide local athletes with high-performance shoes.

Many people traveled from all over the country for the national Fleet Feet Convention, but today, they have one common goal: to give student-athletes the shoes they deserve.

Carla Riggs, a local mother, is grateful for this opportunity.

“They just hit a growth spurt and we were going to have to get new shoes anyway,” Riggs said.

She came to The Podium earlier with just one of her kids, not thinking her other three boys would be eligible because they don’t go to public school. But organizers told her that her three boys can get new shoes too.

“They’re all very athletic. Cross country…my other kid does gymnastics…so taking this burden off our family is just amazing for us. Especially, with hard times going on and my husband’s schedule just got cut so this was just a really amazing thing for us to happen,” she said.

Carla has six kids at home, and now more than half of them have new shoes on their feet thanks to Fleet Feet’s convention.

“What we know how to do is make running shoes, so we thought we would love to give some running shoes to some local underprivileged athletes who maybe wouldn’t have the opportunity or the means to invest in a good pair of shoes themselves,” said Meagan Nedlo, Saucony’s Brand Manager.

Organizers say they have 400 pairs of shoes to give away. Students were even fitted to make sure they walked away with the right pair.

“It’s just a great opportunity to be able to honor some kids in our community who are doing cross country or track with free shoes, socks, and some apparel given away by Fleet Feet and Saucony,” said Wade Pannell, owner of Fleet Feet Spokane.

The work won’t stop today, and organizers be working with schools throughout the summer to get more shoes out to student athletes.