This day kicks off Plano West Rotary Club's "Shoe Drive Challenge for International micro-entrepreneurs and Douglass Community Development", which was a vision of the Douglass Community RCC, and now led by our fearless new member, Jennifer! This exciting project allows YOU to donate gently used shoes, which will be donated to international micro-entrepreneurs to help them build businesses to support their families and communities! At the same time, we will receive some funds in exchange for the shoes, which will be donated career training in the Douglass Community of Plano, Texas. This community was founded by freed slaves and is culturally and historically significant for North Texas.
A group of volunteers consisting of Rotarians, Interactors, and someone who found this opportunity on Dallas Serves' Facebook page all showed up to help bag shoes. We first organized the shoes by pairs. Then, when the plastic bags and rubber bands arrived, we tied each pair of shoes in rubber bands to bind them together, and we put 25 pairs of shoes in a bag. We completed this within an hour! Then we closed up shop and are waiting for the next delivery and bagging day. This first collection involved 15 volunteers, at least 15 hours of work, and collected 199 pairs of shoes valued at nearly $80. Thanks to all who donated shoes, or helped organize and bag them!
This Shoe Drive Challenge is still on-going through the end of October, so tell your friends, and search those closets for gently used shoes that you just don't wear anymore! :) Here's the sign-up for future donations and volunteering
