'Ticket to Dream': Foster kids pick out shoes, summer toys in Goodyear

The Arizona Children's Association held a "Ticket to Dream event in Goodyear, where kids got the chance to pick out shoes, socks, and summer toys.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Dozens of kids who've been through a lot in their young lives spent their morning browsing through shelves, picking out any pair of shoes they wanted.

"They're just so excited, trying to figure out what pair of shoes they're gonna take home," said Jacob Schmitt, president of the Arizona Children's Association.

These kids are in the foster care system. Foster parents like this family of five stopped by the Famous Footwear in Goodyear for its "Ticket to Dream" event.

"They're excited, they're rambunctious, but that comes with being a foster parent," Joel Reissner said.

Reissner and his wife adopted their daughter, Kinsley, when she was a baby. Then two years ago, they took in four siblings as fosters.

"We were originally trying to get one or two foster kids, then the judge said they had four siblings and it's all or none. We said, ‘we’ll take them!'" he said.

Being able to go into a store and say "pick anything you want" – that's something special.

"Words can't describe it. They jump around. We have to try and keep them calm… [it's] organized chaos," Reissner said. "Just a simple act of kindness can go a long way for foster children, especially with the trauma that they come from.