Today you’re going to hear a story about a pair of gold shoes, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about a decision to give a gift that will keep on giving for a long time.
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TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
Today you’re going to hear a story about a pair of gold shoes, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about a decision to give a gift that we’ll keep on giving for a long time. Hi, I’m Erica and I want to welcome Erin Holcomb from the Portland Rescue Mission to SPIRIT 105.3. Good morning, Erin.
Erin Holcomb:
Oh, hi, Erica.
Erica:
It is so nice to meet you and I can’t wait to hear the story of the gold shoes from your perspective. It’s been amazing to read about.
Erin Holcomb:
Yeah, it has been a really incredible experience to be a part of and just has unfolded into such an amazing story that we could have never even imagined would’ve happened at Portland Rescue Mission. About halfway through last year, we had a person who is a part of our programs at our Burnside Shelter. He’s someone who has experienced homelessness and has been getting off the street and getting his life together. He, as part of giving back sorts through donations that come down this big donation shoot we have in our main lobby. So, people come and they bring clothing and coats and shoes, and they drop them down that chute, they get sorted in a basket down below. He was going through these baskets, and in the bottom of one of the baskets, he found this pair of gold, Nike Air Jordans. He thought they looked kind of special.
They were in really good shape. They looked basically unworn. So, he set them aside and thought, I should at least show these to staff. Shortly after that, they were handed over to me to look at, to say, Hey, could these be worth something? And this is something I have no experience with. I have never been in sneaker culture. It’s not something I’ve paid attention to. So, we were starting from scratch. But the thing about the shoes is they really do stand out because they’re so shiny gold. And they have a logo on the back, which we Googled, and it’s the logo for Spike Lee’s film company. So, that Google process led us pretty quickly to find out that they looked just like these shoes that Spike Lee had worn to the 2019 Oscars. So, we thought, wow, that’s really cool. There’s no way these are those shoes, but aren’t they really good looking replicas of them?
So, I just held onto him for a while because I didn’t know, is it even legal to resell replicas? What can you do with these gold Nikes? But because I didn’t know what to do, they sat in my office for a while. I was talking to my husband about it, and he said, you should call our friend Josh. He knows about sneakers. So, I texted him some photos of his shoes and he agreed, these look like these very rare shoes. He said, it can’t be, but he said, you should take ’em down to the sneaker store in downtown Portland and have them look at it. They could tell you. And so I, again, just entirely sure they’re fake. I had them in my office and then I had them in the back of my minivan for a while, and then I had them in my bedroom in my clean clothes, bought baskets, keep ’em out of the way, my kids, and finally I got them down to the sneaker shop.
They just had limited hours, and so got them down there. And when I took them in, they took them to the back, came back out after a long time and said, “Do you know what you have on your hands here?” And of course I didn’t. I was expecting them to point out all the reasons they were fakes, but they said that they were real and not likely Spike Lee’s shoes himself because of the sizing, but that they were part of a small production that had been put out for him. So, we were just completely amazed and floored. And of course, then they went into a locked cabinet so that they wouldn’t get coffee spilled on them or something. YAnd that was when we started trying to figure out how we could sell them to benefit Portland Rescue Mission.
Erica:
I mean, $50,000. Erin came into Portland Rescue Mission because of these gold shoes that you protected, and I am just resonating with all of your mom things that you did with them. I mean, what will that mean for you guys?
Erin Holcomb:
It means a huge amount. We serve over 6,000 unique people every year. These are individuals who come into our building and access our services, and many of them come in every day to get meals from us. They sleep in our building for shelter, especially right now with the weather really cold. I mean, we’re always open 24/7, but we have a special warming center open. We put down extra mats during the extra cold weather. So, it means a lot. That money goes a really long way. And the amazing thing is I just feel like this story has been so beautifully emblematic of the work that we do every day, that the reason I’m at the mission is because I see people’s lives change. People like James, the man who was sorting through these shoes. I see people come in not knowing how to get out of their difficult situation, find their value, be nurtured physically, spiritually, emotionally, and be able to make a change that completely revealed this person that was underneath all the time, and the life that they were intended to live. So, it’s a really beautiful thing to see those treasures. And as much as these shoes, how remarkable that they would come down our shoot, we still don’t know why, I just love the opportunity to point people towards how they represent the lives of the people we serve. So many people see people struggling. They see the people in really difficult situations, and very few get to see the other side of that story and how many people are able to make it off the street and really make a big change.
Erica:
Erin, this story is kind of like a diamond. No matter how you look at it. It really is beautiful. And one of my favorite parts is the mystery. We don’t know who donated these shoes. And so, I’m going to ask you kind of a subjective question, but do you want to know or is not knowing a little extra wonderful?
Erin Holcomb:
Well, I’ll say I’m not expecting to find out, and I am sleeping just fine at night, not knowing. We’re all so curious. We all would love to know just because what an incredibly kind thing to do. What’s their story? How did they make it from Spike Lee’s friends, to our donatio bin, and what was behind that story? But whether we find it out or not, the shoes have facilitated telling a really amazing story. Like you said, just every angle you look at it communicates more than the shoes themselves. It just points to great things that are happening in our community. And even the generosity of that gift, whoever decided to give them to us, is now exponentially showing the generosity of our community, because we do give out shoes every single day. We give out coats every single day. And that takes the generosity of an entire community. This one donor is a great example of that. But the real story, I think, is the generosity of the thousands of people that give to Portland Rescue Mission, and to other shelters around the country every single day, so that we can continue to do that work and invite people off the street.
Erica:
So thankful for you. Before I let you go here, you’re a busy mom, why do you do what you do, Erin?
Erin Holcomb:
Yeah. So I work for Portland Rescue Mission because I am compelled by my faith to serve people who are often overlooked. I really believe that Jesus walks among those who are underserved and unseen. And so for me, it’s an opportunity to walk out my faith in a way where I can tangibly see what the hands and feet of Jesus look like. And then I am just encouraged and uplifted all the time by the stories of transformation that we see in people’s lives. So for me, I’ve been at the mission for 17 years and I keep going back, and I’m excited to go to work, because my work has such beautiful visible meaning, and I can see God at work every day. I say I have a front row seat to God’s work in our city.
Erica:
Oh, I know the feeling. Erin from Portland Rescue Mission, you are a joy. Stay connected. Let me know what’s happening with you, and thank you for being here.
Erin Holcomb:
Thank you so much for the chance to share Erica.
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