Shoe drive aims to kick back money to Children’s hospital
CRANBERRY TWP — In the spirit of giving back to a place that gave him so much, Will Stimmel, a senior at Seneca Valley Senior High School, is raising money for UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh through his senior project titled “Will’s Kicks for Kids.”
Stimmel’s project involves a shoe drive where he asks people to donate new or used shoes, which in turn will be donated to developing nations.
“Some people have been amazing, literally dropping off garbage bags and other people who have just dropped off one pair, which is amazing because every pair counts,” Will’s mother Alexis Stimmel said. “I’ll end up calling Will when we get a lot in, and he will wrap them up with rubber bands and put 25 in a bag.”
When Will was 10 months old, he went in for an MRI after his mother noticed darkened birthmarks on his body.
The spots turned out to be neurofibromatosis, which is a genetic condition that affects about one in 3,000 children and is marked by tumors growing along the nerves in the body.
“It’s more of a child’s disease, but as you hit adulthood other things could arise that don’t come up as a kid,” Alexis said. “They said the tumor that’s still there, the chances of it growing since he’s going to be an adult next year are slim to none, but there are other things like scoliosis and other skin things that could come out. You tackle each thing as it arises.”
Will said he was around 2½ when he started chemotherapy at Children’s and doesn’t remember much about his time except for how well he was treated there.
In order to help with the shoe donations, Will works with Funds2Orgs, an organization, based in Orlando, Fla., that collects shoes and sends them to developing nations.
“They will send a big box truck when the time comes and pick them up,” Alexis said. “They will weigh them all and send them to developing nations. Because it’s a nonprofit they will send the check directly to Children’s.”
Will’s Kick’s for Kids accepts most shoes in any size from gently used to brand new, including cleats and golf shoes.
“The only things that can’t be donated are ski boots, roller skates and ice skates,” Alexis said.
Will is at 60 bags of shoes, which are kept at Studio Raw, a hair salon on Babcock Boulevard where Alexis works.
“My boss, Dan Burda, who is Will’s mentor, is very big in the community in doing things charitable-wise,” Alexis said. “We’ve been posting a lot in the Nextdoor app, which has been good, as well as Facebook and Instagram. Word of mouth has also been nice.”
Burda has been keeping Will busy at Studio Raw, with plans to get close to 100 bags by the end of the project, which in turn would be around a $1,000 donation to Children’s.
And what has Will learned from the project?
“I would say more people skills because Dan keeps making me talk to all the customers about it,” Will said. “I’ve enjoyed meeting new people and helping Children’s out.”
After graduation, Will plans to attend Slippery Rock University for physical therapy. He is a second-year student in sports medicine at Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School.
Will’s Kicks for Kids is accepting donations until the end of the week. Shoes can be dropped off at Studio Raw, at 3185 Babcock Blvd. in Ross Township, or at Chad Gregorini’s State Farm office, 4 Center Ave., Aspinwall.
