Students collect thousands of shoes for people in need
ADAMS TWP — There's a room in the Mars Elementary School with 3,000 shoes.
Bags on bags of boots, sneakers and footwear of all shapes and sizes stretch wall to wall, all destined for the feet of those in need.
Fourth-grade teacher Jamie Waters said it all started with Rachel's Challenge.
“We've been trying to promote just small, simple acts of kindness,” she said. “Talking about how a simple smile or a kind word can start a chain reaction.”
A brainstorming session led to students looking for ways to aid those in need, she said. They ultimately decided on a program to collect shoes.
The idea grew quickly, with three other fourth-grade teachers — Stephanie Graff, Chris Petrini and Jennifer Renner — bringing their classes on board. Pupils began collecting shoes, and with the approval of Principal Todd Lape, started spreading the word to everyone they could.
Waters said shoes began pouring in from parents, community members and school staff. She initially thought they might collect a few hundred shoes, but they quickly exceeded expectations.
“We have now turned hundreds into thousands,” she said.Students made posters featuring thermometers that showed the progress, but these soon had to be abandoned when they filled up well before the shoes stopped coming, Lape said. He said they had parents and community members collecting shoes from their jobs and gyms.Eventually, the school found a partner, Funds2Orgs, which not only offered to distribute the shoes, but to donate $1,000 per 2,500 shoes to the charity of the school's choice.“Now we're going to donate to a local charity,” Waters said.The deadline they set expired Friday, but Funds2Orgs won't come to collect for a week or two, Waters said.
