The fourth and busiest day of the 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour came to a close with Tony Gonsolin, Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips distributing shoes at WSS in Inglewood to 100 local children.
The students had their feet sized and were then sent to one of Gonsolin, Phillips and Vesia. The players then helped each child pick out and try on a pair of shoes. “A lot of fun. I love shoes,” Vesia said about helping the children.
“We kind of all love shoes, so just to see some smiling faces, kids to get new shoes and everything, glad to support it.”
“I was actually kind of impressed with how well they knew different types of shoes. They were talking about Air Forces, Jordan’s, all this stuff. When I was their age, I don’t think I knew that much about shoes.”
After the children found the right shoes, they were then given a pair of socks to go with them and a Dodger Dog provided by Papa Cantella’s. Some of the students kept them in the box to take home, but many couldn’t wait to wear their new shoes and kept them on as they left the building.
“The joy on their faces when they get a new pair of shoes and how excited they are to wear them out of the store speaks for itself,” Gonsolin said.
As part of the event, the Dodgers are also donating 100 shoes to CASA of Los Angeles, a local foster youth organization operating in Monterey Park.
“It’s one thing we all take for granted, is what we have on our feet on a day-to-day basis,” Phillips said. “To see these kids come out of here with a new pair of shoes and how it brightens their day, is what it’s all about.”
Evan Phillips appreciated Dodgers community tour
The community tour concludes on Friday, but it saw the Dodgers involved with a charity event every day of the week as they lead up to FanFest on Saturday.
Two earlier events in the day also saw Chris Taylor attend a field trip with students to the Discovery Cube, while Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Eric Karros participated in a cooking class at California Pizza Kitchen.
“I think it’s something that every Dodger player would highlight, one thing that we all do really well on this team is our involvement in the community,” Phillips said. “And really it can’t be compared to any other team.
“The Dodgers Foundation and the Dodgers themselves go through a lot of effort to put on events like this and do a lot of good for the surrounding communities.”
The message was echoed by Vesia and Gonsolin, who agreed that Phillips summed up their thoughts perfectly.
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