A Step in the Right Direction

Hazel Avenue Elementary students want your shoes! For the past few weeks students have been collecting shoes for the nonprofit organization Soles4Souls. The organization takes donated shoes and distributes them to those most in need.  The students are on a goal to collect more than 100 pairs.

The driving force behind the campaign and the backbone of all the logistics is mother of three, Namrta Shah.

Shah is no stranger to charitable works in her local and global communities. In 2000, she volunteered with her husband in the Peace Corps in Honduras. "I saw first-hand how these international charities helped the people in these countries abroad and made a difference," she said. 

As for working specifically with  Soles4Souls, she said it "kind of landed on my lap."

While on vacation, Shah saw a brochure that highlighted the organization's mission. She liked that every donated product went straight to real people. "It feels good knowing that when I run a shoe drive it's two-folded," she said. "One: we're recycling our shoes. Two: someone out there is getting a chance to put shoes on their feet to help avoid infections."

Her children are right beside her working to collect for the drive. Anjali, her 8-year-old daughter, a Hazel second grader, thinks the school's shoe drive "is a big help for children who don't have shoes. I'm happy lots of shoes are in the box at school." 

People around our country and the world are happy, too.

Donations can be dropped off at Hazel Avenue Elementary School, 45 Hazel Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052. With each pair, $1 donation is suggested to help defray shipping costs.

For more information on Soles4Souls visit their website: http://www.soles4souls.org/