In the spirit of the sharing season, employees at Rose Medical Center will give each student at Whittier Elementary School a new pair of shoes on Monday, Dec. 16.

Every student was asked ahead of time to select from a few styles and to provide exact foot-size measurements so each gift could be customized.

In all, about 205 students will make the trip over to Rose Medical Center to pick up their shoes.

“Saying ‘thank you’ is not nearly enough,” said Whittier Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Lynette Hall-Jones. “This shows how caring and helpful people are in this community - all the staff here is deeply appreciative. We have some families with five children and this will make a big difference.”

The first bus will leave Whittier Elementary School at 9:15 a.m. to transport Early Childhood Education students and those in fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grades. Another bus will leave at 10:30 a.m. with kindergarten students and those in first-, second-, and third-grades. (Rose Medical Center is even paying for the transportation costs.) The buses will head to Rose Medical Center, 4567 E. 9th Ave., and are expected to arrive about 20 minutes or so later.

Whittier Elementary School is located at 2480 Downing St. Telephone: 303-861-1310.