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Dad Honors Late Son With Shoe Drive For Kennedy Krieger

LINTHICUM, Md. (WJZ) -- A Maryland family honors their son's memory with a huge shoe drive.

They have one more week to reach their goal, and you can help.

Local Family Keeping Son's Memory Alive With 'Kicks For X'

Shoes are piled up in Anthony Byrd's Linthicum home.

And he knows his son Xavier would have been thrilled.

"X" was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Schinzel-Giedion syndrome.

After he passed away, his parents knew exactly how to honor him.

"It's the Kicks for X campaign. It's in honor of our son Xavier Byrd who passed away just over two years ago," said Anthony. "When he was alive he had multiple special needs and was in a wheelchair. He wasn't vocal and couldn't use his arms. He was limited in what he could do as a child. But one of the things we always made sure was that he had the nicest clothes and the best shoes."

"Shoes were kinda his thing. Everybody recognized Xavier by the shoes he was wearing," Anthony added. "He always had the latest and cleanest and best looking shoes out there,"

This their third shoe drive for Kennedy Krieger Institute.

The goal? One thousand pairs of shoes and socks delivered on March 13, which would have been Xavier's birthday.

"Kennedy Krieger was one of the organizations that from a very early age we were involved with," Anthony said. "Xavier went to their day care for special needs -- PACT in Baltimore County."

To help the Byrds make their goal, you can donate shoes by emailing kicksforx@gmail.com.

They will set up a time to pick up the shoes if you're local or give you a shipping address to send them. They are looking for shoes and socks for children from infants to 7 and 8 years old.

"I think he'd love the idea of everybody else being able to wear shoes that were purchased thinking about him," Anthony added.

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