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A Very Special Birthday!

Wesley’s 8th birthday party was extra special this year. When inviting friends to his party, Wesley asked them to bring SHOES instead of presents.

Wesley collected 50 PAIRS of shoes for those in need.

Thank you very much Wesley, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a special young man.

WAY TO GO WESLEY!

Photos of Packing Day!

Many more photos are in an album on Facebook.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALBUM

Shoe mountain at the start of the day

Volunteers hard at work

Banding and boxing shoes

14,000 pounds of shoes were boxed and shipped

20 Pallets were prepared for shipment

11.335 PAIRS of shoes are loaded up and ready to hit the road

Drum Roll Please…

After a day of hard work by many many volunteers I am pleased to announce the grand total for our Shoes for Haiti collection….

11,335 PAIRS OF SHOES!!

Many photos to come tomorrow!

This collection exceeded my wildest expectations. Thank you to everyone who donated to Shoes for Haiti.

Waiting for the Packing Party.

It seems that things are coming together in a remarkable way.

Shoes – Rubber Bands – Boxes – Pallets – Plastic Wrap – Pallet Mover Thinger – 1 Semi Trailer – PEOPLE.

I’m anxious and very excited to finish the last step in our Shoe Drive tomorrow. We will be spending the day organizing the shoes that have been donated, and packing them onto a truck.

I have been thinking today of all the “strangers” that have been involved in this effort. Strangers that I only know as “Shoe donators”. People that have found the Shoes for Haiti project worthy of their time and effort…

Tomorrow I am lucky enough to meet many of these people. I have volunteers coming from all over Kansas City and Lawrence to fulfill the final step of this process, and I am anxiously awaiting the chance to say Hello, and Thank You.

I simply could not be happier.

Collecting is Complete – Shipping Underway.

Our shoe drive has come to an end. The next two days will be spent organizing and preparing for shipment to the Soles4Souls warehouse location in Alabama.

The official count of shoes will be in on late Saturday – I will be sure and update everyone!

Thank you!

Best for Last!

Just a quick note to say the last week of this drive has been fast and furious. It is by far the largest amount of donations we have had! The collection teams have been working very hard to get everything picked up. We have had an amazing response from several groups.

Specifically, I would like to point out the hard work of Hilltop Child Development Center and Hazel Grove Elementary School. Shoes were donated from these locations yesterday. A huge THANK YOU to all that were involved in the efforts at these locations.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY FOR COLLECTING!

SUPER HELPERS: Madelyn & Her Mom Collect 200 Pairs!

I’m so excited to share that a 5 YEAR OLD has collected 200 Pairs of Shoes for Shoes for Haiti!!

Madelyn, who is a kindergartner,  wanted to do something to help the people of Haiti, and her mom took the time to explain that the people needed basic necessities like food, clothes and shoes. It was during this explanation that Madelyn’s Mom, Jennifer, realized that they could collect shoes.

A note from Jennifer:

This shoe drive helped us feel like we were doing our part to help people who really needed basic things.  It isn’t about lots of money or expensive things.  It is as basic as shoes on their feet, shirt on their backs and basic food needs.  I hope these shoes will help this country start the healing process and (figuratively and literally) put one foot in front of the other to move toward the future.

GREAT JOB MADELYN! Thank you for all of your hard work!

Madelyn and her little sister, Olivia

Shoes that Madelyn collected!

30 Days Ago.

30 Days ago today the PEOPLE of Haiti experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

I post this not to remind you of the heartache, sadness and suffering. I post this so that we keep in mind the PEOPLE that these shoes are going to help.

I cannot imagine what it feels like to undergo the trauma that the people of Haiti have experienced. I can only assume they are now just beginning to feel. The last 30 days of their lives have been such a nightmare that for some, the emotion is just now beginning to return.

What I can feel is the JOY  that comes to me while our team continues to collect HUNDREDS of pairs of shoes. The people of Kansas City and Lawrence have made a simple gesture of sharing their shoes, but with each pair comes a bit of HOPE and LOVE for the individual that is going to receive them.

The moments that “our shoes” will reach the feet of the Haitian people is something that I think about often. If each person receiving a pair of shoes can take a minute and find an emotion that resembles JOY, or find HAPPINESS for a single second in the protection for their feet, or find COMFORT in the fact that their children will not be barefoot in the chaos — Well, if any of these emotions reach the people of Haiti because of our shoes,  than every single pair has been worth our effort. Every single pair is a chance for someone to smile.

Keep the shoes coming, and with each pair please remember the PEOPLE that you will be impacting.

Fun with Friends!

I put the call out for a little bit of help this past weekend. Several close friends rallied together and helped  sort things out and get organized at the storage location. Here are a few pics from the day.

Check out our Facebook page for many more photos!

CLICK HERE TO SEE FACEBOOK ALBUM

The pile from week two of collecting!

Morning Volunteers!

Lawrence Crew!

1,673 Pairs in Boxes - Many many more to sort.

68 Inside Sports Joins the Team!

More great news! 68 Inside Sports has contacted us about how they can help with our Shoes for Haiti project. 68 Inside Sports is run by former Kansas City Chief Will Shields. Will is also the founder of the Will to Succeed foundation which provides support to numerous charities in the Kansas City area. We are very pleased that they are on board to help us out!

They have graciously offered to host two more collection sites at their facilities.

The new drop locations are:
11301 W. 88th St. Overland Park, KS 66214
and
9111 Flint Overland Park, KS 66214