Soled Out for Kids
Soled Out for Kids provided new shoes and socks to 537 students at Jefferson Elementary School, Fresno.
Volunteers from FPU—members of the Social Work Club, faculty and staff—and Rotary Club of Fresno fitted every child at the school in about three hours December 16, 2013. "Many of these kids have never had a new pair of shoes," said Joan Minasian, director of annual giving at FPU and spearhead of Soled Out for Kids. "It's incredibly moving to see their faces, and I can't think of a better way to start the Christmas season."
But the event is about more than footwear. "The shoes are the way we connect the community with the school for a long-term relationship—whether it be a church group or a service club like Rotary. These adults have something to offer these children and it begins with a pair of shoes and socks," Minasian said.
Funds were provided by grants from Rotary Club of Fresno, Walmart, where the shoes were purchased, and private donations. Spirit 88.9 Christian radio co-sponsored this event, and held its own shoe drive for about 640 students at Veva Blunt Elementary School, Visalia.
Soled Out for Kids has provided more than 6,000 pairs of shoes to students in schools in low-income areas.
Life Goes On Home Improvement
The Office of Spiritual Formation sponsored a collection of old shoes to recycle, with funds going to Life Goes On Home Improvement (lgo-hi.com). This nonprofit organization helpsthe disabled and elderly live in their own homes by increasing accessibility through ramps and other means.
Ruth Dahlquist's Principles of Biology class collected 15 pairs of shoes, and other members of the School of Natural Sciences faculty—including Deanna Bell, M.A., assistant professor of biology, and Ron Pratt, Ph.D., associate professor of math/sciences—donated as well. Dominc Olvera, an FPU student whose uncle runs Life Goes On, organized the project through OSF, where he is on staff. The drive began during Missions Week November 11-15 and continued through the end of the fall semester.
Dahlquist, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, linked Olvera's efforts to what she was teaching her class. "We had just been talking about environmental stewardship. One of the things we discussed was plastic trash that gets into the ocean, and how it affects seabirds. So it was a natural connection to think about what happens to shoes in the environment after they are thrown away. I created an extra credit assignment in which students researched what happens to shoes in the environment. Discarded shoes can last a long time in landfills, and they are also found in the marine debris in the ocean. Students wrote about their findings, and brought a pair of used shoes to donate," she said.
Dockery Recycling, Selma, (dockeryrecycling.com) handled the recycling. The company has a program where nonprofits can receive payment for old shoes.