VIDEO – Community Helps Youth-Owned Shoe Store Robbed of Merchandise: ‘We’re Going to Keep Looking Forward’

A local store was left with nothing after thieves apparently targeted it, but community members are stepping up to get the shop, One Pair, back to business.

Video footage showed the scene after the Kansas City, Missouri, shop was ransacked recently when 120 pairs of shoes, clothes, and its shirt press were carried off, according to KMBC.

“It’s a bad event, but we look forward. You can’t drive in the rearview mirror, so we’re going to keep looking forward. Keep the positive things,” One Pair‘s owner, KJ Farmer, told the outlet.

Nearly every hook and shelf were left empty inside the store that is operated by local youth:

“All of these boxes are empty. They used to be filled with the shoes that we had on the shelves,” Farmer explained.

Surveillance video recorded the individuals who reportedly broke in through a back door.

For the young people who own and run the store, it has been a massive blow.

“It means a lot to all of us,” employee Deandre Simpson stated.

However, what meant even more was the huge support they have received to get the business up and running again.

“It’s just opened up my eyes to more of how this community is really helpful and how they want to support when they see good things coming along,” Simpson added.

The store’s founder hopes to be the example for how to recover from a difficult situation.

“Growing up all I wanted was a chance. I own several businesses now and it took me too long to learn life. How to learn to save money, how to do the right things and why it shouldn’t be that way,” Jerren Thornhill commented.

Now, he is using it to teach the young people an important lesson.

“This just allows us to say, ‘Hey, it’s another bump in the road, but the road is still there to keep going,'” Thornhill noted.

Meanwhile, customers and other people have joined forces to show how much they care, and the owner said they have received commitments from banks and additional local business owners.

As of Saturday afternoon, a GoFundMe page has raised $29,061 of its $40,000 goal.

One Pair also offers WiFi, after-school work, and tutoring help for young people.