Salon owner running back to school shoe drive for community

Monica Terry knows the struggle.

“My hustle has been real my whole life. I grew up on the east end of Lexington and I didn’t have much at all. My mom had 6 kids so it was really hard for her to provide for us, but she did what she had to do,” Terry said.

Monica is the owner of Keeping It FRESH at Monica’s, a salon in Nicholasville. Last year, after speaking with a school-aged girl at the store about how some of the kids at school didn’t look as if they had new shoes for the new year, Monica started to go shopping.

“Everywhere I went, just find different shoes, different sizes, didn’t matter,” she said of spending her own money on the sneakers.

This summer she decided to take her personal shoe mission public, using social media to create a shoe drive. As of this writing she has more than 300 shoes she’ll be giving away this Sunday between 3-6 pm at the salon.

“We’re going to have pizza, little desserts for the kids, games outside and a DJ,” she said.

IN addition to the shoe drive, Monica does a Christmas in July for her loyal customers.

“It doesn’t hurt to care for people and give back,” she said, before assisting a client.

“With our first time doing this we don’t know how big it’s going to progress. We’re hoping this is the start of something we can do over the years,” said Debra Ross. Ross is a client and part-time employee here known by everyone as “Granny D.”

“It’s expensive for that parent, especially if it’s a single parent,” Granny D said.

Monica Terry’s mother walked in those shoes, so she knows.

“I love to give back,” Terry said.

*The shoe drive at the salon on Rebel Road in Nicholasville will take place this Sunday from 3-6 pm. If you’d like to donate shoes, or money to the drive you can send a CashApp to Mterry87, or call Monica at: 859-270-7880. Sneaker donations can be dropped off at the salon.