The People of U.S. Sugar Provide More Than 1,300 Pairs of Shoes for Area Children with Laces of Love

Clewiston, FL – Recently, U.S. Sugar President & CEO Robert H. Buker presented more than 1,300 pairs of new shoes to school board officials, teachers and student representatives from Hendry and Glades county schools from Laces of Love, a Naples-based non-profit organization dedicated to providing children in need with a new pair of shoes. The shoes were collected as part of a company-wide competition.

“Lending a helping hand to the youth of our community is a large part of who we are at U.S. Sugar,” said U.S. Sugar’s Community Relations Manager Jennifer Black. “We are proud to support Laces of Love and make sure that students in our local schools who need them get a new pair of shoes.  This partnership with Laces of Love is a win-win for U.S. Sugar and our communities.”

For the third straight year, U.S. Sugar and its employees increased the amount of shoes that had been donated over the previous year.  Last year’s shoe drive produced 1,000 pairs, and this year, with the company providing an equal match to its employee donations, more than 1,300 pairs of shoes will be distributed to students in Hendry and Glades county schools.

As a motivation to encourage competition among its many different departments, U.S. Sugar once again offered a trophy and a year’s worth of bragging rights to the department that brought in the most shoes. For the second year in a row, the winning department was Agriculture Operations and Railroad, headed by Ken McDuffie, Sr. VP.   Sugarcane operations and railroad division employees generously donated more than 200 pairs of new shoes.

The Laces of Love Charitable Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization that provides new shoes to low-income and disadvantages children and educates the public about the needs of these children. U.S. Sugar has been a partner since 2015.

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Pictured: U.S. Sugar President & CEO Robert H. Buker with Clewiston-area students.

Pictured:

A group photo with (left to right):

BACK ROW: Lesle Hare – Glades County School Counselor

Mike Pressley – Glades County School Board

Felinda Langdale – Moore Haven Elementary School Principal

Mr. Robert H. Buker – President & CEO, U.S. Sugar

Shannon Bass – Glades County School Counselor

Janice Foster – Moore Haven Middle High School Principal

Patricia Pearce – Glades County School Board

Jon Basquin – Hendry County School Board

Paul Puletti – Hendry County Superintendent

FRONT ROW: Tony Busin – Westside Elementary School Principal