Roderick Batson, the Katy franchisee for Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, is looking to donate shoes and clothes to area schools and sports teams.

Batson is continuing a charitable activity begun by Natalie Craig of Lubbock. Batson said Craig led a nonprofit called WITS (an acronym for Walk In The Shoes). Batson said the sporting goods manufacturer Under Armour sponsored her about three years ago, giving her about $1 million worth of shoes, clothes and so forth to distribute among Title 1 schools, among others, in Lubbock and the Texas Panhandle.

But not all the items got passed out, and wound up in a storage facility. Batson said those items were essentially collecting dust.

Craig and Batson became acquainted through his involvement in Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, along with various charities. She reached out to him, he said, and basically wanted to pass the torch.

Batson sent an 18-wheeler to Lubbock to pick up the materials.

“The truck was full of brand-new Under Armour spikes, cleats, shorts, shirts, tights, anything you can think of,” Batson said. “My goal is to get it out to as many athletes and students in Houston as possible.”

Already, Batson said, he is sponsoring Royal High School athletics in Brookshire; TrackHouston, which he said is the largest track club in Houston; KIPP Academy, and Hearne High School athletics.

Batson said plenty of items remain, and he hopes to develop a partnership with Under Armour to continue distributing those items.

Batson said his sister, Dana, is coordinating the distribution effort. They can be reached through the Howdy Homemade Ice Cream Facebook and Instagram pages.