Fulton County

Buckhead business owner gives $1 million in designer sneakers to underserved children

BUCKHEAD, Ga. — It was like Christmas morning in early spring.

“See the look on the children’s faces,” volunteer Erinn Larson said. And see the shoes on their feet.

At the Boys & Girls Club along Marion Street in Southeast Atlanta Thursday, 600 pairs of designer sneakers were given away to underserved children from all around the metro Atlanta area.

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It’s a project of real estate mogul Patrick Carroll.

His company’s headquarters are located in Buckhead.

It’s a 10-city tour that started at a Boys & Girls Club in Miami, onto another in Tampa, and now Atlanta.

During the swing through the Sunshine State, the sneakers arrived in an armored truck.

“I mean, people look at it and they’re like - ‘is this a real Brinks truck?’ Which it is. Fully bullet-proof. A truck they used for the banks,” sneaker entrepreneur Ben Kickz said.

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There was $100,000 worth of high-end sneakers in the Atlanta load for children who otherwise might never get to own a pair.

Carroll says he attended a Boys & Girls Club when he was growing up and he wants to give back.

“Shoes for little kids. Athletes and all that. It’s like a major confidence boost,” Patrick Carroll said.

By the time the 10-city tour is over, Carroll says he will have given away $1 million worth of sneakers to thousands of children.

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