UTICA, N.Y. -- It all started just a couple years ago.

"What really broke our heart is when we heard about four refugees in our very own city, they got their toes amputated because they didn't have footwear. So from hearing that, it really drove us to start something bigger than us," said high schooler Matthew Servello.

After that, Servello founded 'Soles for Christ.'

"It's more than a name," he said. "It's always pointing back to, showing that we're doing it for something greater, and we're made by Him and we do it for Him."

With some help, Servello began a ministry buying and selling shoes, then using the profit to buy new shoes for those who don't have any.

"We only do new sneakers because it's always been more than a pair of shoes for us. It's more of showing a kid that they're loved," he said.

It hasn't always been an easy mission.

"It all came out of our own pockets," said Servello. "So we had to sacrifice some stuff that we felt like God was really calling us to do in our city."

Servello said they've given away more than 800 pairs of shoes in just this year.

Now they have their own space where they're printing clothes to sell for their cause.

The first line sold out in three weeks.

"So right now we're actually about to drop a new collection and we're going to see where that goes," said Servello.

To help promote the new collection and the ministry's cause, they're hosting an event that includes free food for the first 300 high school or college, young adult students at Redeemer Church in North Utica.

"We have a concert and we're going to do an interview with Soles for Christ to go see what the ministry is about and then we're going to eat a lot of free food," said Redeemer Church Youth Pastor Tim Nicolette.

The hope is to raise awareness and help more people.

"The more and more we gave away shoes to the refugees, we actually realized that there's just impoverished kids all over. So it moved from just refugees to every single person that needs shoes. We want to fill that need," said Servello.

Admission to the event is free. To learn more about the event, click here. To learn more about Soles for Christ, click here.