Shoe Palace employs unload and fold new clothing the Morgan Hill-based company donated to Cecelia's Closet Nov. 10.

A donation from Shoe Palace to a Morgan Hill nonprofit will allow hundreds of local families in need to have new shoes and clothing for the holidays.

Employees from Shoe Palace on Nov. 10 delivered a cargo van full of the store’s merchandise from the company’s headquarters on Jarvis Drive to Cecelia’s Closet & Food Pantry on Peebles Avenue in north Morgan Hill. The donation included new shoes, shirts, sweats and apparel. Shoe Palace President John Mersho said it’s “just the beginning” of their plans to give back.

Cecelia’s Closet, which is operated by the nonprofit Edward Boss Prado Foundation, will donate the merchandise to local families. Prado Foundation Executive Director Cecelia Ponzini estimated the Nov. 10 donation will reach up to 300 families, and volunteers who run the nonprofit are looking forward to a lasting partnership with Shoe Palace.

Donations like these show what is possible when the business and charitable giving sectors combine their efforts, volunteers said.

“We wouldn’t be able to operate if it wasn’t for our business relationships,” Prado Foundation Board Member Caitlin Jachimowicz said. “Having local businesses be willing to work with us and collaborate with us is what helps us keep our doors open.”

Mersho said it’s part of the family-owned company’s effort to stay active in the community and give back. He added he is grateful for the support of City of Morgan Hill officials who convinced him to keep Shoe Palace’s headquarters here, even after being courted by cities in other states with generous incentives to move.

“We’re here to support the city, and to support Cecelia’s Closet,” Mersho said. “What Cecelia is doing for the community is unbelievable.”

The Prado Foundation and Cecelia’s Closet use donations from the community to provide families in need throughout South County with food, clothing and other essential items. Board members said the need for basic items in the local community has grown significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic began, as families from all demographic and income levels have sought assistance.

Shoe Palace is a national company with more than 50 retail stores in California and the Southwest. The company moved its headquarters—including warehousing, distribution and packaging operations—into the former Hospira building on Jarvis Drive in 2013.

Since then, Shoe Palace has built a new warehouse next door that, at about 500,000 square feet, is about twice the size of their current building. Mersho said they plan to move into the new building in early 2022.

Shoe Palace currently employs more than 400 people in Morgan Hill, Mersho said. When they move into the building, they’ll be looking to hire another 100-150 employees.

About 20 Shoe Palace employees joined Mersho Nov. 10 to deliver, unload and organize the items donated to Cecelia’s Closet.

Ponzini said the Prado Foundation is “lucky” that Shoe Palace chose Cecelia’s Closet as the recipient of the company’s generosity.

“At the end of the day, we’re happy that our families are being taken care of,” Ponzini said.

Shoe Palace employs unload and fold new clothing the Morgan Hill-based company donated to Cecelia’s Closet Nov. 10.
Edward Boss Prado Foundation volunteers, city officials and employees of Shoe Palace gathered Nov. 10 to celebrate Shoe Palace’s donation of a van full of new merchandise to Cecelia’s Closet & Food Pantry.
Shoe Palace employs unload and fold new clothing the Morgan Hill-based company donated to Cecelia’s Closet Nov. 10.
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Michael Moore is an award-winning journalist who has worked as a reporter and editor for the Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Free Lance and Gilroy Dispatch since 2008. During that time, he has covered crime, breaking news, local government, education, entertainment and more.

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