Student-led drive collects 1,601 pairs of shoes
Lined up on the basement shelves are more than 600 pairs of shoes, in just about every size, color and style, from boots to sneakers.
They were collected for the community service project One Thousand Soles, which is championed by Salem-Keizer students, backed by the city of Salem’s Youth Development section, and appreciated by homeless teens and children in need.
Shoes are a luxury many families cannot afford, and this project fulfills a local need. Nearly 1,000 students in Salem-Keizer School District are homeless. Half of the district’s population is considered living in poverty based on the number of students receiving free and reduced meals.
“Shoes are a low priority when they’re trying to pay their bills or they’re sleeping in a car,” said Laurie Shaw Casarez, youth development coordinator for the city of Salem.
One Thousand Soles was launched in 2012 by a group of 18 students at South Salem High School. They called it One Hundred Soles the first year but had so much success with their shoe drive — collecting more than 500 pairs — that they raised their goal.
This year they collected 1,601 pairs of shoes, most of which are waiting to be sorted, cleaned and sanitized. That’s in addition to 21 bins full of previously donated shoes that still need some tender loving care before being placed on the shelves in the basement of the IKE Box, the downtown coffee shop donating space to One Thousand Soles. (They could use some volunteers.)
Each month an average of 100 pairs of shoes leave those shelves, which were built and donated by an idle Habitat for Humanity volunteer in response to the Statesman Journal's Catalog of Giving campaign.
The teens and children who get to go shoe shopping here, often arriving in footwear that is either held together by duct tape or several sizes too small or too big, are referred primarily by the school district's Students in Transition Educational Program (STEP), HOME Youth & Resource Center, and HOST Youth and Family Program.
"I can only imagine how many people we have helped," said Elizabeth Ficek, who was one of the South Salem students who helped launch One Thousand Soles.
Now a second-year student at Oregon State University, she keeps tabs on the project through its Facebook page.
"It's just nice to see how many other schools got involved," Ficek said. "I like seeing a bunch of teenagers taking the lead on this. It's a good start to develop skills later in life and, besides that, it's an experience they will carry with them the rest of their life, knowing the impact that they made. I know I'm pretty proud."
One Thousand Soles provided four pairs of wrestling shoes earlier this year to the team at Leslie Middle School — two were donated and gently used, and two were purchased new — and it is about to buy 65 pairs of athletic shoes so that students at Auburn Elementary School can run in the COUNTRY Kids Relays.
“This is the next wave of need,” said Casarez, noting that area athletic directors and coaches are constantly asking the community to “sponsor” individual athletes who cannot afford specialized shoes needed for participation in some sports.
The timing is fortuitous. The Statesman Journal has been waiting for the right moment and the right cause, and we believe this is it. We have more than $10,000 in a special fund that can be used to support a local nonprofit, and we want to do something in conjunction with the inaugural Mid-Valley Sports Awards on June 7. If the shoe fits, right?
So on the same night that we roll out the red carpet at Salem Convention Center, to honor more than 100 outstanding athletes, we will recognize a project that already has done so much for local youths and wishes to expand to to help athletes in need. We will donate the more than $10,000 to One Thousand Soles, which is the equivalent of about 400 discounted pairs of shoes.
We've started a conversation with Casarez about how to best leverage the funds. Perhaps there’s an Oregon shoe company that would be up for matching the donation? One Thousand Soles already works closely with adidas to purchase discounted footwear.
“I really like the idea of figuring out a longer-term strategy to support local athletes in need,” Casarez said. “We want to be strategic in how we start something. It’s about legacy. It’s about helping kids right now, but also 10 years from now.”
We agree, and we can't wait to see what One Thousand Soles comes up with.
“Forward This” highlights the people, places and organizations of the Mid-Willamette Valley. Contact Capi Lynn at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6710, or follow her the rest of the week on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.
Shoe Battle 2016
The student-driven community service project One Thousand Soles collected 1,601 pairs of shoes during its 2016 campaign. Here are the results:
High School Division
479 Houck Middle School (competing at the high school level since feeder school North Salem did not)
406 West Salem
305 South Salem HS (plus $50 cash)
203 McKay
183 Early College
25 Sprague
Middle School Division
Their shoe counts are incorporated with their feeder high school counts. It is up to each high school to invite feeder middle schools to join the cause. Walker and Straub are included in West Salem's count, Leslie, JGEMS and Howard Street in South Salem's count, and Whiteaker in Early College's count.
183 Walker
56 Straub
43 Leslie
11 JGEMS
10 Whiteaker MS
7 Howard Street Charter
Athletes of the week to be honored at Mid-Valley Sports Awards