Zapatos, Inc.

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Our Community. Our Schools. Our Children.

For a child, putting on a pair of shoes that fits can be the key to starting the day on a positive note. Hundreds of children in Bexar County live in poverty and confront challenges on a daily basis. Putting on a pair of shoes that fit should not be a challenge for students. We hope that you can join us to make a difference in a child’s life. Contact us to see how you can help.

Contact Us
Boy Shoes

Shoe Drop-Off

How the Community can help

At Zapatos, Inc., we are dedicated to stepping up our efforts in addressing this issue. If you have shoes to donate, just give a call and you can drop them off at the address listed below, or someone will be happy to pick them up. Just give us a call and tell us what you prefer.


Permanent drop off location:

Texas Cavaliers Office

909 NE Loop 410, Suite 903

San Antonio, TX 78209

Shoes

Mission Statement

Helping our children achieve success from their first steps into school and on into college. Zapatos, Inc. strives at helping society’s less fortunate families in the poorest communities of Bexar County by providing new shoes to these children.

Our Motto

NO shoes, NO service

Does that sound familiar?

Without shoes, “no service” can mean no job, no opportunity, no chance in life. With shoes, doors open to schools, to universities, to jobs, to life. Give a child a pair of shoes!

SHOES ARE FOUNDATIONAL;

SHOES ARE FUNDAMENTAL.

Girl Shoes

How it Works

One Step at a Time

We work with the school counselors, social workers and/or family liaisons. We provide a shoe request form and they contact us with referrals for children in need. If we do not have the shoes in our warehouse, we purchase them and take them to the school which then gives the shoes to the child. We strive for a one to three day turn around. No child should have to wait for shoes.

Our Story

WALKING TO A BETTER FUTURE

I was diagnosed with leukemia in 2015. I started undergoing chemotherapy shortly thereafter. One day while sitting in my chair getting treatment, I took a picture of the shoes I was wearing and posted them on Facebook with an inspirational message. At every chemo session thereafter, I posted a different pair of shoes with a different message. I did not want this cancer to define me, I wanted everyone to know that I was doing well and in good spirits, so I continued to post a different pair of shoes at each session. Suddenly, I started receiving shoes from friends and strangers to wear at my chemo sessions. It was during one of my sessions that I was inspired to start Zapatos. Call it divine intervention, or my experiencing an epiphany, but something told me, “Stop posting your shoes and start putting shoes on kids!” And, that is exactly whit I did.

I went to an attorney who incorporated Zapatos and to an accountant to get us our nonprofit status.

Zapatos Inc. is an all-volunteer nonprofit foundation that provides compassionate help to families in financial crisis by furnishing shoes to school-aged boys and girls in Bexar County. Through donations from generous individuals and constant fundraising efforts, we were able to fit over 300 students with shoes our first year. Our second year, 2017, we fit over 700 boys and girls with new shoes. In 2018, we donated over 2000 shoes.

Bexar County has one of the highest percentages of children living in poverty in the country. In many Bexar County school districts, as many as up to 92% of the children qualify for free or reduced lunch. This is an indication of the level of poverty in our county’s schools. These kids need shoes in order to participate in sports, ROTC, after school/work programs, high school graduation ceremonies and especially daily use. Not having a proper pair of shoes limits their participation in opportunities offered to children by the school system and society.

Zapatos was founded in 2015 and started providing shoes in 2016 when we received our 501(c)(3). Over 300 students were served the first year, over 700 the second year and over 2000 the third year. COVID slowed us down a bit but we got back on track for the 2022-23 school year – we distributed 5200 pairs of shoes.

If getting leukemia was what started me on this journey, I wouldn’t take another road.

Maria Gloria Martinez passed on January 4, 2021, of complications due to leukemia. She is missed by all and her work continues. 

For 2023-24, Zapatos Inc. Projects distributing approximately 10,000 pairs of shoes. Gloria’s dream continues

Major donors

  • Triple Steel / Stein Family Fund
  • Cavaliers
  • Charity Ball
  • Susan Naylor Sellers
  • Pershing Advisor Solutions (Mellon Foundation)
  • Laura Watts
  • Network for Good
  • Benevity Community Impact Fund
  • Key Chain

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Texas Cavaliers Grant Recipient

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that has”

~ Margaret Mead

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