MSAD #58 school nurses (left to right) Wendy Pond RN, Madi Faraday RN, Kristin Rackliffe RN and Beth Luce RN stand in behind 90 pairs of sneakers donated to the district recently by New Balance. (Sandy Schniepp photo) MSAD #58 — Recently New Balance donated 90 pairs of sneakers for children in the MSAD #58 school system who were in need of athletic footwear.

School staff determined a few weeks ago that some students in the district had inadequate athletic footwear, so the nurses asked New Balance for a donation. They contacted a "wonderful lady" at the Skowhegan office, Georgianna Wright, "Charitable Program specialist" and she helped push the donation through.

Wright worked at the New Balance factory for 25 years and over that time, hundreds of people came through the doors inquiring about donations, so she would direct them to the main office in Boston. After doing this for so long, she wrote a letter to the company's headquarters, stating in part, "If you ever need someone to help distribute these samples to the needy children of Maine, let me know." A few months later, the Boston office called and the position "Charitable Program Specialist" was created and Wright was named to it.

Working with Wright, MSAD #58 school nurses Wendy Pond RN, Madi Faraday RN, Kristin Rackliffe RN and Beth Luce RN secured this donation for district students.