Deborah and John Hausladen have sent sneakers to thousands of troops overseas and they finally got to meet one of the local recipients recently: Will Jones, of Chester Springs, a selected reservist with the United States Navy, writes Matteo Iadonisi for 6ABC. 

“My deployment came pretty quick and I remember taking three pairs of boots and then the sneakers that were on my feet at the time,” said Jones. “And in about two months, I noticed the tread was wearing on the foot and I could literally see my foot.” 

His wife heard about Sneakers for Soldiers, a nonprofit started by the Hausladens and aided by Bryn Mawr Running Company, a local small business that provides shoes at a discounted cost. So she contacted them and helped to facilitate a special delivery of new sneakers for her husband. 

Jones, who was at the time deployed in Africa, was overjoyed to receive a new pair of sneakers. 

“I opened the box up, I tried them on, they fit perfectly,” he said. “It meant a lot getting that because it was a sense of that home for me.” 

Read more about Sneakers for Soldiers at 6ABC.