How a pair of shoes can change a life through United Way’s ‘Step Up to Help Others Forward’ campaign

HANNIBAL, Mo. – A pair of $20 shoes paired with plenty of motivation was what Britney Douglas needed to get her life in order. 

Douglas was born into a family of addicts who frequently were in and out of jail. She was a victim of sexual assault as a toddler, her family unit was unstable and she was bounced in and out of foster care.

“I didn’t know how to be a kid,” Douglas said. 

Those situations resulted in her living on the streets by herself in her teen years and other points throughout her life. When she was 16 years old, Douglas got together with a 21-year-old man and eventually became addicted to methamphetamine. Drugs controlled her life for eight years. 

She eventually got arrested. 

“The best thing that ever happened to me was getting arrested and having to sit for 15 days in the Marion County Jail by myself, because I picked up the Bible,” she said. 

Douglas said she started to get her life together. She worked hard, stayed sober and was offered a full-time job at Love’s Truck Stop in New London. 

Slip-resistant, black tennis shoes were required for Douglas to begin her new job. Those shoes cost around $20 at Wal-Mart, but Douglas had been unemployed and homeless. She couldn’t afford them.

Those shoes were a barrier from any hope of a better future. Douglas and her boyfriend, a long-time friend, reached out to Stephanie Dunker at Ralls County NECAC for help. 

“They came to me, and they were really down on their luck,” Dunker said. 

The first day Douglas and her boyfriend came to her office, Dunker recalls telling them she would be with them to help them reach their goals. 

“I saw how hard they were working to change their situation, and I knew we could help them,” Dunker said. “Britney was so appreciative, but I just kept telling her, ‘You are the one doing the work.’” 

Dunker used money from United Way to buy Douglas her shoes, allowing her to get her job and a paycheck. 

Douglas eventually moved into her own home and paid her car payment and utilities, becoming self-sufficient.

The shoes changed Douglas’s life.

Around $20,000 is needed for United Way of the Mark Twain Area to achieve the 2022-23 campaign goal. Dollars from United Way are invested in local non-profit organizations like NECAC so stories like Douglas’ can come to life.

United Way dollars touch hundreds of local lives daily. They might be used by local non-profits to buy items for people, or they may provide food or safety to someone in need.

United Way is trying to raise $20,000 in the next two weeks through the Step Up to Help Others Step Forward campaign. 

To give, people can send money to P.O. Box 81, Hannibal, Mo., 63401, give online at http://unitedwaymta.org or text ‘STEPUP’ to 26989 for a prompt to give.