Worldwide, tens of millions of children are at risk for contracting debilitating diseases and also unable to attend school because they lack a basic necessity: shoes.Napa High School senior Samantha Wakerlin used this sad and startling fact to energize fellow students and the surrounding community into action. For her senior project, Wakerlin founded Teens in Service, a campus club meant to introduce teens to global service with a focus on projects that teach, restore, inspire, build, empower and connect teens with each other. With guidance from academic counselor Stefania LaMarca and instructional coach Karin Hatton, Teens in Service identified international nonprofit Soles4Souls as recipient of its efforts. Fellow senior Scott Kunihiro, similarly moved by Soles4Souls’ mission, is also dedicating his senior project to the organization.
Established in 2006, Soles4Souls distributes shoes and clothing two ways. Most new items (collected primarily from corporations, manufacturers and retailers) are given directly to people in need, both in the United States and overseas. The organization also sells used (and some new) items to carefully selected microenterprises that provide shipping, financing, inventory, training and other support to ultra-small businesses in poverty-stricken countries throughout Africa and Central and South America.
“As a group, we decided it was a worthy organization, because it helped young people be able to get to school and stay healthy—causes our students could rally behind,” says Hatton. “Additionally, we learned that these kinds of drives keep 3 million or more shoes out of landfill every year, so it’s a win for the community.”
The club has set a goal to collect 25,000 pairs of new and/or used shoes by March 31, 2015, and is asking for help. “If we collect this many, Souls for Soles will send a truck to collect the shoes and we avoid transportation costs,” says Hatton. “We also earn two trips to distribute shoes in Haiti, which I selfishly wish for our student leaders to be able to experience.
“If we don’t reach the goal, we’ll need to find ways to get the shoes [we do collect] to Tennessee. We’d love to hear from any businesses who could help piggyback these shoes to either Nashville or Los Angeles or that have contacts in the shipping world.”
Shoes can be dropped off at Napa High and New Technology High School; NVUSD offices; Browns Valley and Vichy Elementary Schools; and Silverado, Redwood and River Middle Schools.
