Auction set for beloved San Jose teacher's sneaker collection to raise money for scholarship
Auction set for San Jose teacher's sneaker collection to raise money
Virginia Wright, aka SP Gina, was known for her devotion to her students and her love of sneakers. When she died suddenly last year, her family knew they wanted to honor her memory. Now in partnership with retailer Shoe Palace, they are having an auction of her incredible shoe collection.
MORGAN HILL, Calif. - Virginia Wright, aka SP Gina, was known for her devotion to her students and her love of sneakers. When she died suddenly last year, her family knew they wanted to honor her memory.
Now in partnership with retailer Shoe Palace, they are having an auction of her incredible shoe collection. They hope to raise money for a scholarship in her name.
Ask any sneakerhead, and they'll tell you: her collection is impressive: mostly Jordans, many of them rare.
"These shoes that she's got are really special. They're all retros, they're all limited edition products," says John Mersho, president of Shoe Palace.
SP Gina was a beloved San Jose school teacher and an unlikely influencer with thousands of followers on Instagram.
Back in 2019, this caught the attention of shoe executives. Bay Area-based retailer Shoe Palace and Jordan Brand, created a special sneaker just for Gina. She is the only non-celebrity to ever get one.
Gina found sneakers to be a way to connect with her students.
"It was just everything, everything about the Jordan shoe, that she loved. How the kids noticed, and she knew she could grab that kid in and, you know, talk to that kid. And that's what it was," explains Gina's sister Josie Sanchez.
Last year, Gina died suddenly in a car accident. Her family knew they wanted to honor her memory.
"We were just trying to figure out the shoes and the amount of shoes and how to make her proud," says Sanchez.
Shoe Palace, Gina's favorite store, stepped in with an idea: they could auction all those shoes to raise money for a scholarship.
"It was tragic what happened to her. And I feel like at least her legacy can still live on, and so we can have a part in that. I feel like that's what we're trying to do here," says Mersho.
There are more than 200 pairs. The family rented a U-Haul to deliver them to Shoe Palace. Jason Markks, a well-known shoe cleaning company is getting them back to mint condition. One shoe that won't be auctioned is Gina's personal pair of her namesake sneakers, her favorite.
"Using different products, maintaining whatever we need to do to bring them back to life as much as we can," says Aaron Rivera, with Jason Markk.
The family decided the scholarship should be to Gina's alma mater, San Jose State University. They say the auction being about sneakers and education just seems right.
"She would love to see that, and she would love to help students better their lives with a scholarship that's in her name," says Sanchez.
The online auction will be done through the Charity Buzz site.
The family and Shoe Palace hope to raise at least $50,000 to fund the San Jose State scholarship in perpetuity. The auction should be live in early March.
Shoe Palace plans to have more information on its website when the auction date is set.