The youth group at a local church is
challenging the community to help it collect new and lightly-warn
shoes to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti.
Beginning Sunday, middle school students in
the 4Twelve and Girl Talk classes at First Baptist Church of
Houston will be collecting shoes to assist Project Haiti. The youth
group is partnering with Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based
organization that distributes both new and used shoes
worldwide.
Collection boxes will be set up at the
church for shoe donations during February. Jeff McNiell, one of the
youth leaders, will also accept shoes inside his office at the
Houston Herald.
Soles4Souls estimates that 300 million
pairs of shoes were thrown away last year, while the same number of
children around the world have never owned a pair of shoes. It is
estimated that Americans have 1.5 billion pairs of unused shoes
lying in their closets.
The charity can use each and every one of these pairs to make a
tangible difference in someone’s life. Soles4Souls has distributed
more than 4.3 million pairs (currently donating one pair every 17
seconds) to people in more than 125 countries, including Honduras,
Uganda, Romania and the United States.
McNiell said the youth at First Baptist
will be shoeless during worship services in February to raise
awareness for the drive. For more information or to donate, contact
him at 417-260-4343 or jmcniell@yahoo.com.