Community Corner

Local Hits Shoe Lotto; Donating Proceeds to Charity

Franaldo Hanna won a one-of-a-kind pair of Air Jordans, and is donating upwards of $11,000 from the sale of them to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

Lots of people wish they could hit the lottery. But not too many lotto winners give the winnings to charity.

That's essentially what sneaker-head Franaldo Hanna, a 2004 East Hampton High School grad, is doing after winning a one-of-a-kind pair of Air Jordans after a contest through Nike gave away 27 Air Jordans – one for each different style over the years.

"Everyone else is selling the shoes on eBay for ridiculously high prices," Hanna said. One pair has auctioned for as high as $15,000.

"I'm just taking a stand against the greed."

UPDATE: The winning bid for Hanna's shoes came in at $11,100 on Thursday evening.

Hanna – who won the XIII pair – said a light bulb went off when he was watching TV one night. Though he wasn't sure then that he wanted to donate the proceeds from his shoe auction, he did know he wanted to donate to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital after seeing a commercial. And that was that.

"That was pretty much it. I just knew I wanted to donate," he said. "I didn't think about the shoes at first."

After starting with a $0.99 bid, Hanna's shoes are up for auction on eBay currently – until 6 p.m. on Thursday – at which point the highest winner takes the pair. He says he's expecting some last-minute bids to boost the price, possibly as high as $20,000.

Until they are shipped off to the highest bidder on Sunday, they'll be on display at Sneakerology in East Hampton.


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