Dallas, TX
‘Giving dignity’: How Buckner in Dallas sends shoes — and hope — to world’s orphans
At the Buckner Humanitarian Aid Center in Dallas, the sound of generosity is not loud.
It’s the soft thud of cardboard boxes being opened, the shuffle of volunteers sorting sneakers by size, the hum of a warehouse that has quietly changed more than five million lives.
For 26 years, Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls has turned something as ordinary as a pair of shoes into a lifeline for millions.
What began as a small radio campaign in the mid‑1990s has grown into one of the longest‑running humanitarian programs of its kind, powered not by a massive staff but by a small team and an army of volunteers who believe that dignity can start at the feet.
The program’s origins trace back to a Dallas Christian radio station, KCBI, whose general manager visited Russian orphanages and saw children sharing shoes from a basket by the door.
“They wanted to serve a few hundred kids,” recalls Shawn Spurrier, director of Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls. “But the community really responded; they were able to serve a few thousand kids for about five years in a row.”
In 1999, Buckner International took over the effort. Since then, the program has delivered more than five million pairs of shoes to children in 86 countries, including communities in the United States.
Spurrier still marvels at how the program grew. “It almost felt like a movement,” he says. “People resonated with the simplicity of providing something that isn’t a luxury for us, but is for children throughout the world.”
Carolyn Griffith of Dallas, a volunteer for Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls program, sorts the donated shoes at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Mesquite.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
The gateway effect
A pair of shoes is not just footwear in the communities Buckner serves. It’s access.
“In many regions, if you don’t have a pair of shoes, you can’t go to school,” says Steve Watson, Buckner’s director of humanitarian aid. “But you don’t have the money because you don’t have an education. It’s this vicious cycle.”
Shoes break that cycle. They also protect children from foot‑borne illnesses and tropical diseases that can be catastrophic and entirely preventable.
But the most powerful impact, Spurrier says, is opportunity.
He tells the story of Dulce, a young girl in Guatemala whose family was on the brink of losing their home. Her mother wanted to learn to read, and her father struggled with alcoholism and steady work.
“Dulce coming in to receive a pair of shoes was the introduction,” Spurrier says. He recalled how his staff met Dulce’s family and linked them to programs that offered literacy training and job skills — support that helped them finally break the cycle that had kept them in such a precarious situation.
“You never know the story a pair of shoes is going to tell”, Spurrier says.
Even after more than a decade with Buckner, Spurrier still encounters moments that stop him cold. That was the case in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he met Romina, a 7‑year‑old girl receiving her first new pair of shoes.
“They were just basic black school shoes,” he says. “But she broke down weeping.”
Concerned something was wrong, Spurrier asked the family’s translator what had happened. The truth was far gentler: Romina was overwhelmed that someone had thought of her at all.
“That moved me to tears,” he said, shaking his head. “That moment reminded me why we do what we do.”
For Watson, dignity is the heart of the work.
He remembers a boy in Guatemala who lived in a dump and didn’t attend school because he lacked shoes and proper clothes.
When the boy approached a distribution event, other children shouted, “You don’t belong here.”
Watson found a pair of shoes that fit him. “That’s giving dignity,” he says. “Now he could go to school. Now he belonged.”
Spurrier adds that dignity extends to parents, too. “Imagine being a mom who can’t afford shoes for her child’s first day of school,” he says. “Providing that pair of shoes eases a burden. It’s dignity for the whole family.”
Catherine Bates of Dallas, a volunteer for Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls program, sorts the donated shoes at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Mesquite.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Volunteers keep showing up
Inside the warehouse in Dallas, the heartbeat of the operation is a group of retirees who show up every Wednesday. Among them is Ed Wales, 82, who has been volunteering since 2007.
His connection to the mission began decades earlier. In 1995, he heard radio station KCBI describe Russian orphans hauling water uphill because their orphanage had no running water. “I was driving to work,” he recalls. “I broke down. I had to pull the car over. My tears were just flowing. I said, ‘I’m going to be involved in that.’”
Wales, a 20‑year Air Force veteran and longtime health care worker, adopted a son in 1973. “I’ve always had a soft spot for orphans,” he says.
He still remembers putting shoes on children in Russia in 1999. “Some were wearing shoes that were just tattered,” he says. “The light on their faces… your heart soars.”
When volunteers come into the warehouse, their job is to process the shoes. They sort every pair by size, type, and gender: athletic, canvas, leather; men’s, women’s, boys’, and girls’.
They remove all the packaging and tags tucked inside the shoes, then rubber‑band each pair together, heel to heel. And before the shoes move on, every single pair receives a handwritten note with a message of hope and encouragement.
In the middle of the 45,000‑square‑foot warehouse, tucked between towering stacks of shoeboxes, there is a corner that stops people in their tracks. It’s called the Barefoot Experience, but it feels more like a quiet invitation to step into someone else’s life.
Three wooden boxes sit side by side, each filled with the kind of ground children around the world walk on every day — dirt packed hard by heat, loose pebbles that bite at the skin, jagged rocks that make every step a calculation.
These textures come from the places where Buckner delivers new shoes to children who have never owned a pair.
Volunteers pause, slip off their shoes, and place their feet onto the earth. The shock is immediate. The coldness of the rocks. The sting of the pebbles.
The uneven ground forces the body to tense with every step.
For a moment, the warehouse fades, and what remains is the simple, humbling realization of what it means to walk without protection.
The displays are meant to echo the rugged mountain paths of Ethiopia, Mexico, and Perú, places where children rise before dawn, walk miles to do their chores, and return home with soles bruised and spirits tested.
“Walking barefoot across these surfaces is a powerful reminder of what thousands of children endure every single day,” said Spurrier.
Students from Ruth Cherry Elementary School in Royse City, Texas, step onto the soil without shoes at the “Barefoot Experience” at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Mesquite, after their volunteer works for Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls program.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
A small team, a big impact
Despite its global reach, the Buckner Humanitarian Aid Center operates with just 17 staff members: 10 on the humanitarian aid team and three on the shoes team. The rest is powered by 6,000 to 8,000 volunteers a year.
Last year alone, Buckner shipped 133,000 pairs of shoes to children in Texas and around the world. About 40% of all shoes go to Latin America.
Shoes arrive through church drives, civic groups, manufacturers, and donors across the country.
Watson explains that giving a child a pair of shoes is often the first doorway into a family’s life.
When their team ships a container of shoes, they also include school supplies, food, and other essentials because the goal is to care for the whole person, not just one need.
A simple pair of shoes can unlock so much more. In many communities, children aren’t allowed to attend school without them.
But families often can’t afford shoes precisely because they lack education and job opportunities, a cycle that, according to Watson, repeats itself generation after generation.
By providing shoes and school supplies, Buckner helps remove that first barrier so a child can go to school. And once that connection is made, families are invited into the Family Hope Center programs, where parents can access job‑skills training, parenting classes, cooking classes and other resources that strengthen the entire household.
In that sense, a pair of shoes doesn’t just protect a child’s feet; it can open up an entirely new world for the whole family.
“God uses ordinary people and ordinary means to love and serve his world,” Spurrier said. “A pair of shoes is ordinary. But what it leads to can be profound.”
Aiming for a modern-yet-retro look, Whataburger is reviving its iconic A-frame. Sort of.
The Texas burger chain is introducing two new prototype store designs, each of which is “grounded in the brand’s heritage but built for how [customers] experience Whataburger today,” the company says. The designs will be incorporated into newly built locations.
One of the prototypes, called The Legacy, reintroduces the classic A-frame shape, but with a modern twist, on the exterior of a 3,000-square-foot store and enlarges the dining room, the company says. The new A-frame treatment maintains “the unmistakable Whataburger look with bold architectural updates,” says the burger chain, but it takes up far less space than the original version.
The other prototype, called The Essential, leans into the iconic orange-and-white striped scheme on the exterior of a 2,000-square-foot restaurant.
The Essential design features the iconic orange-and-white striped scheme.Rendering courtesy of Whataburger
In 2020, Whataburger debuted its first refreshed store in South San Antonio, de-emphasizing the familiar A-frame, adding more glass around the front of the building, updating the décor, and retooling the kitchen. In the six years since, most of Whataburger’s original A-frame-adorned “flying W” stores have switched to new formats, and all newly built locations have incorporated modern designs.
Among other changes coming to new Whataburger restaurants are:
- Warmer spaces featuring natural wood tones, more glass, and modern materials to “create a more open, welcoming environment.”
- Updated layouts with flexible seating and dedicated areas for mobile orders and third-party order pickups.
“The result is a space that feels like Whataburger from the moment you pull in, with a few thoughtful updates to make every visit even better. It’s all about honoring the brand’s roots while making room for what’s next,” the company says.
The new prototypes will debut in Texas and then be rolled out in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Construction is set to start later this year, and store openings are expected in early 2027.
Whataburger, founded in 1950 in Corpus Christi, operates more than 1,100 restaurants in 17 states, with the bulk of them in Texas.
Compassion does not wait for perfect conditions. It does not pause for bureaucratic gridlock, nor does it ask for permission to act. It simply looks at the human condition and decides to intervene. In Dallas, this relentless brand of empathy has a name, a pulse and a vibrant color palette, largely thanks to the Rio Valley Relief Project and the two dynamic women steering its course: Jackie Claudet Mitterer and Cassie Stewart.
Together, they operate at the delicate intersection of human suffering and creative resilience. Their work is a testament to the idea that helping others is not just a logistical challenge, but an art form. By bridging the gap between those who need shelter, food or a welcoming hand, and a city eager to give, Mitterer and Stewart are proving that unity is built one quiet act of kindness at a time.
A mission rooted in nimble compassion
The Rio Valley Relief Project began as a response to acute human crises, providing support to refugees, asylum seekers and other displaced families arriving in the area. Over time, it has evolved into a sustainable force for community care. The organization thrives on its ability to adapt. Whether they are stocking food pantries or setting up apartments for new arrivals, the goal remains fiercely simple.
“It’s helping people feel connected enough to care and then giving them a way to help,” Mitterer tells the Observer. “We’re good about looking at the human needs in front of us and shifting and pivoting where we need to.”
Stewart, whose background in the school system deeply informs her approach to the project, echoes this sentiment. The focus is always on the families and the tangible realities they face daily.
“A lot of it comes from staying close to the families that we serve,” Stewart says. “I can lean into that community and the partnerships and the creative thinkers around me, and that’s usually where the most resourceful solutions come from for me, for us.”
Weathering the political storm
Providing relief in Texas is rarely just about logistics. It’s inherently tied to the shifting sands of border policies and political climates. Both women acknowledge the hurdles that come with their chosen path, yet they refuse to let changing laws paralyze their mission.
“Some of the policies over the past several years have made the work harder,” Stewart admits. She notes that the shifting landscape “has increased suffering for families that we care about, but the need doesn’t go away.”
Even as migration patterns fluctuate, the requirement for human dignity remains constant.
“Policies change,” Stewart says. “And now we’re finding ourselves in a different situation where people are coming. It’s slowed dramatically.”
To combat this, the duo focuses on building long-term infrastructure rather than just applying temporary bandages.
“We’re beginning to be more intentional about creating consistent support systems, especially in schools and with families, so that what we’re doing isn’t just reactive but lasting,” Stewart shares. “We’ve both worked in the school system, so we feel a draw to that as well and have connections there.”
The canvas of service
For Mitterer, the drive to serve is woven into her DNA, inextricably linked to her own family history and her life as a creator. She views her artistic endeavors and her humanitarian work as two sides of the same coin.
“My way to connect is through service,” she says. “I am a daughter of immigrants. I am the granddaughter of immigrants to so many places. There is migration in my story forever.”
Service, she admits with a refreshing dose of honesty, is mutually beneficial.
Courtesy of the Rio Valley Relief Project
“In my case, it keeps me centered,” Mitterer says.”My head is a trip. My soul is happy. Art and service center me. My mother, she and I will say it is self-serving. Give the good, the good part of myself.”
This profound connection to the human experience spills over into their view of everyday interactions: You do not need a grand platform to make a difference. Mitterer believes deeply in the micro-moments of empathy.
“You don’t need to have an organization and do a 501(c)(3),” she says. “It doesn’t need to be a perfect setting to be a helper. You just do something, invite a cup of tea, make a phone call, ask about how their day is going.”
Dallas: A unifying backdrop
The Rio Valley Relief Project does not exist in a vacuum. It draws its lifeblood from the generous, creative spirit of Dallas. Both women see the city not just as a location, but as an active participant in their work.
“Dallas is aware and values the creativity in people,” Mitterer says. “Dallas is perfect for that. There is so much to do and there is interest and it is a unifier.”
The duo has found that when they call on the community, it always answers.
“When we were setting up apartments, it’s amazing what people will gather for us. We get to be in the space where we see people show up, and it’s really great,” Mitterer says. “You see the loop full of artists, mural artists… it is becoming a scene. We can just be whoever we want and the way we want and be genuine… Dallas is fantastic in that way.”
It’s a city where, as she puts it, they can be “the quiet person who keeps showing up and doing the work. We hug and we hold space… We hold space for everybody.”
Through the Rio Valley Relief Project, Stewart and Mitterer remind us that service is not a rigid obligation. It’s a fluid, evolving practice of human connection. Whether they are coordinating resources for a disadvantaged school, setting up a living room for a displaced family or pressing vibrant mosaic tiles onto a canvas, they are building a masterpiece of community care.
“Come learn what we do. Laugh with us,” Mitterer invites. “And if you want to be part of it, come learn and do your thing. But do something if you can, when you can, how you can, however big or small.”
To learn more about the impactful work of the Rio Valley Relief Project and discover ways to contribute, visit their website.
This offseason, the Dallas Cowboys were more active in free agency than they have been in recent years. Knowing they needed to improve their defense, they added multiple players who fit new defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s vision.
The additions continued during the 2026 NFL draft. Not only did the Cowboys select safety Caleb Downs and EDGE Machai Lawrence in Round 1, but they also used five of their seven picks on defenders while adding another defender, Dee Winters, in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
With the new season quickly approaching, the Cowboys will be relying heavily on Parker and the revamped defense to get them back into the playoff picture. That said, these four players will be the ones to make or break their 2026 campaign.
Dee Winters, LB
The linebacker position was one of the weakest on the roster last season for Dallas, which is why they swung a trade for Dee Winters. He’s slated to be the starting inside linebacker next to DeMarvion Overshown, who recently said the league hasn’t seen him at his best yet.
Overshown has been a difference-maker, but his durability is concerning. That’s why Winters is such an important addition. He’s been far more durable than Overshown and is coming off his best season with 101 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and one interception. Dallas will look to Overshown and even rookie Jaishawn Barham for splash plays, but Winters is the steadying force they need.
Cobie Durant, CB
Cowboys On SI writer Mike Moraitis named the addition of Cobie Durant the “most underappreciated move” the Cowboys made this offseason and his assessment is spot-on. Durant is coming off a strong season that saw him record 40 tackles, seven pass breakups and three interceptions. He brings much-needed coverage skill to the secondary, earning a 67.4 from PFF, which was 38th out of 114 qualified cornerbacks.
Durant continued to excel in the postseason, recording three more interceptions and breaking up another seven passes in three games. He’s overly confident and even with DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel on the roster, Durant will be on the field often this season and will help determine the trajectory of their defense.
Rashan Gary, EDGE
Fans had their hearts set on a big-name such as Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson, but the Cowboys ended up with Rashan Gary. While he’s never recorded more than 9.5 sacks in a single season, Gary is still a capable pass-rusher who excels in run defense.
More importantly, he’s someone Christian Parker believes can set the edge in Dallas. They don’t need him to be Crosby, but if Gary can serve as a veteran leader who records at least seven or eight sacks in 2026, he will be a great help for this rebuilt defense.
Caleb Downs, DB
There might not be another rookie facing as much pressure to perform in 2026 than Caleb Downs. While others will be expected to eventually become the face of their franchise, Downs will be asked to lead a complete defensive makeover from the minute he steps on the field.
Not every rookie can live up to those expectations, but Downs is ready for the challenge and is already winning over teammates with his approach. He’s likely to spend most of his time in the slot, but beyond that, Downs will be one of the key communicators who helps the Cowboys secondary get on, and stay on the same page.
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