Altrusa International of Branch County works with Soles4Souls to Meet Needs of Children

[excerpted from The Daily Reporter, Coldwater Michigan]

photo and story by Roland Stoy

There are so many needs for so many people in Branch County, Michigan.

Important among those needs are shoes and boots for children, and Altrusa International of Branch County, an organization of executive and professional women, has made this area one of their activities in community service.

"The need is huge," said Connie Winbigler of Altrusa. "There are a lot of children who don't have proper shoes or boots, and this can become a health issue."

Thanks to their affiliation with Soles4Souls, an international organization dedicated to providing footwear for those in need, Altrusa has an inventory of shoes and boots stored in the basement of Hauska Home and Farm on Chicago Street in downtown Coldwater.

Monday, Winbigler, along with Sara Roper of Hauska and Sue Crabtree, stocked an additional 114 pair of shoes and boots, and were gratified to fit a couple of young clients with new footwear.

Winbigler said they have been spreading the word to service clubs and organizations regarding the availability, but primarily teachers from pre-school to grades three and four are on the watch for those children in need and have forms by which the footwear is procured.

STRIDERS in Grandville, MI, is a new drop-of location for Soles4Souls

Striders, a specialty running store in Grandville, Michigan, is a local drop-off point for Soles4Souls. People are urged to drop off "gently worn" shoes at the store during regular business hours.

Striders is a true running specialty store. Our selection of shoes & apparel screams running. Each member of our staff is a runner and has been trained to match the right shoe to your particular foot shape and motion. It just makes sense to have a knowledgeable runner helping another fellow runner. Nobody wants to go to a store for a specialized product only to have some young clueless person pretend to know what he’s talking about. At Striders, there’s no pretending.

You’ll also find all the gear a tri-athlete may need, minus the bike. We carry a large selection of wetsuits, shorts, jerseys and accessories. For all you swimmers, we carry all the top lines of swimsuits.

But Striders is so much more than just selling products. We’re involved in the community helping with running-club events, high school events, college events and we also organize and sponsor 2 great running races. See our race events page.

Striders is owned by 2 avid runners, Steve and Deb Webster. While their step has slowed over the past 20 years, their love for running has not. You’ll still find them out running nearly every day, as do their children Erin and Andrew.

Stop by for a visit or to donate some gently worn shoes!

STRIDERS Specialty Running Store
4045 Chicago Dr. SW
Grandville, MI 49418
Monday - Friday: 9 am to 8 pm
Saturday: 9 am to 6 pm