The staff at Rose Medical Center will provide every student from Ebert Elementary School with a new pair of shoes following a special morning brunch on Monday, Dec. 15. The event will run from 9:45 to 11 a.m. The school is calling the event "Shoeapalooza."

“Rose employees are making extraordinary efforts to get the exact shoes students want,” said Marian Hahn of Rose Medical Center. “Some are on EBAY trying to find Air Force Ones; others are shopping many stores to find the exact shoes regardless of cost.”

About 149 students are enrolled this year at Ebert Elementary School; 95 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-prices meals.

This is the second year Rose Medical Center employees have donated shoes to elementary students. Last year’s recipient was Whittier Elementary School.

"Shoeapalooza" is being organized by Ebert Elementary School and the DPS Educational Outreach Grant Program. The mission of the program is to help children and youth who are experiencing homelessness use education as their main defense against the cycle of poverty. Assistance with transportation, clothing, resources for shelter and medical care, and support with miscellaneous expenses, such as eyeglasses, are some of the services the program provides in an effort to remove barriers that prevent participation in educational opportunities.

Other donors are Just for Feet at Quebec Square in Stapleton, which sold shoes to Rose Medical Center at discounted prices to donate to the students, and Hammonds Candy, which donated homemade candy canes for the "Shoeapalooza" event.

Ebert Elementary School is located at 410 Park Ave. West. Rose Medical Center is located at 4567 East 9th Ave. For more information about the Educational Outreach Program, contact: Liz Murphy, Denver Public Schools Homeless Liaison, 303-405-8227; or Jackie Ulmer, Educational Outreach Program, Ebert Elementary School, 303-295-7869 extension 2249.