A couple of third-graders of the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC are leading a Soles4Souls shoe drive to collect new and gently used shoes for the less fortunate. Allison Arber and Ryan Gerard are following the school's legacy to learn, lead and serve.
Ravenscroft’s involvement with the project began when Ryan went into the New Balance store in Raleigh to purchase a new pair of shoes, and was asked by an employee if he would like to donate his unused shoes to Soles4Souls.
Ravenscroft’s involvement with the project began when Ryan went into the New Balance store in Raleigh to purchase a new pair of shoes, and was asked by an employee if he would like to donate his unused shoes to Soles4Souls.
“I asked them how many people didn’t have shoes, and they said more than 300 million,” said Ryan. “I donated my old shoes, and then my family and I realized it would make a good service project. I asked my classmate, Allison, who goes to church with me at St. Francis of Assisi, if she wanted to help, and she did.”
The students approached the Lower School Director about sponsoring the project, and then created and distributed flyers promoting the shoe drive throughout the Lower School. The response has been overwhelming, and within two days of announcing the project, the shoe containers were overflowing with donations.
“I visited the Soles4Souls Web site and saw some pictures of children who were wearing paper held together with rubber bands on their feet,” said Allison. “Their feet could get cold or they could step on something and get hurt, so it makes me happy to help them.”
“We have done shoe drives in the past, but this is the first time we have participated in the Soles4Souls program and the first time we have worked with a local school,” said Mark Allard, who owns the Raleigh and Durham New Balance stores with his wife, Kathy. “This is a really great program that started in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. Souls4Soles delivers shoes to those with a need both domestically and internationally. For example, more than 1 million pairs went to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and 50,000 pairs were recently delivered to victims of the wildfires in California.”
New Balance has provided containers for the Ravenscroft students, who will collect shoes through Dec. 8. New Balance will then ship the shoes to Soles4Souls. Allard said that the store was already putting plans into place for future shoe drives involving local schools, so he was happy to help Ravenscroft get started when he was approached by the Gerard family.
Anyone wishing to donate their new or gently-used shoes to Soles4Souls may bring them to the New Balance Store at 6204 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh.
Anyone wishing to donate their new or gently-used shoes to Soles4Souls may bring them to the New Balance Store at 6204 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh.
No comments:
Post a Comment