JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- No matter the color or the size, shoes are on the feet of hundreds of Iraqi children, who are able to walk across the harsh desert with more than soda cans wrapped around their feet now.

Tonya Ulrich and other spouses of the U.S. Army Reserve's 428th Transportation Company spent 20 hours packing more than 3,000 pairs of shoes into 82 boxes recently.

The community generosity, mostly through a three-day collection drive at Immaculate Conception School, was overwhelming and greatly exceeded expectations, Ulrich said.

Principal Jennifer Cassmeyer said the idea first bloomed when Tonya's husband, 1st Sgt. Chris Ulrich, visited the school while on leave from Iraq and talked about the poor living conditions of Iraqi children. Ulrich, who was talking to his daughter McKenzie's second-grade class, attended Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau and graduated from Kelly High School in Benton.

He is the son of Cindy and John Schmoll of Cape Girardeau and the grandson of Doris Langston and Violet Ulrich, both of Cape Girardeau.

The principal said some of the school's students continued to discuss the situation and realized: "We have extra shoes. Can we send them to the children of Iraq?" From there, school administrators sent a note home asking for the donations, which flowed into the school over three days.

"It was wonderful," said Cassmeyer. "It was a chance for them to have a real, live experience. It made them feel like they were helping." Cassmeyer said the school regularly holds food and clothing drives.

"But this was a fun one. It was neat to see the shoes coming into the school," she said.

A couple in Iowa, through the Soldier Pals program, gave the remainder of funds needed for the shipping costs, Ulrich said.

Thanks to digital technology, the families and the school children were able to see pictures of the impact within hours.

"To see those kids warm up to my husband when he gave them the shoes -- it touched me and my kids," Ulrich said.

The shoes were sent Oct. 25 and distributed Saturday

"This was an excellent opportunity to show American citizens care about the people of Iraq," said Melissa Wilding, 428th Family Readiness Group leader.

"We do what we can in addition to what the soldiers do."