Kansas Woman Buys Every Pair Of Shoes At Liquidating Payless Store, Sends Them To Flood Victims In Nebraska

A Kansas woman found the deal of a lifetime at a closing Payless store, then used it to help others in need.

The woman, Addy Tritt, purchased 204 pairs of shoes at a location of the store that is liquidating and then sent them to help victims of widespread flooding in Nebraska. As the Lincoln Journal-Star reported, Tritt said she wanted to find a way to give back because she had been helped by many people in the past.

Tritt found the shoes at a store in Hays that had dropped prices down to $1 per pair. The Fort Hays State University graduate used her negotiating skills to bargain the entire lot down to $100, then bought them in bulk. As the report noted, her purchase included 162 pairs of children’s shoes, one men’s pair, and the rest women’s shoes.

The discount shoe chain had announced in February that it would be closing all 2,100 of its locations and liquidating merchandise, Fox Business reported. At the time, the store chain announced that most stores would only last a few more weeks before closing their doors for good.

“We expect all stores to remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May,” the Kansas-based company said in an official statement.

Tritt’s purchase may be able to go a long way. Many parts of Nebraska were hit with major flooding in March as heavy rainfall and rapidly melting snow overwhelmed the Missouri River Basin. The ensuing flooding was described by local officials as historic and the floods were estimated to have caused more than $1 billion in damage.

Many farmers saw their entire farms wiped away, and the estimated losses from livestock alone were estimated at more than $400 million, NPR reported.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a disaster this widespread in Nebraska,” said Governor Pete Ricketts as he surveyed the damage.

The state of Nebraska had already declared a state of emergency and asked the federal government for help.

The flooding has prompted a major humanitarian response as well, with many nearby states assisting in aid and people from across the country donating money and supplies to those who lost their houses and businesses in the flooding.

Hays' Addy Tritt bought every single pair of shoes at her local Payless – more than 200, in all – to give to flood victims in Nebraska. https://t.co/a7dKhUBQSp pic.twitter.com/X0vB9MO5dG

— WIBW (@wibw) April 2, 2019

While the shoe purchase made by Addy Tritt may not be able to help everyone, she certainly made her donation count. The report noted that the retail price for Tritt’s entire Payless purchase would have been more than $6,000.