Shoe drive going on now at Everest College in Vancouver, Washington!
Everest College is an accredited university that offers men and women career training and life skills needed to excel in their chosen field. They offer programs in everything from accounting to paralegal to bookkeeping and medical insurance billing at this campus alone.
Shoes for Life has partnered with one such program. The students of Lab B in the Medical Assisting program contacted us with the goal of running a shoe drive. The Shoe drive is up and running have having some great success! There is a bin on campus near the front office just waiting for your shoe donation.
Drop your shoes off in the bin with our Shoes for Life Logo at
120 NE 136th Ave, Ste 130 Vancouver, WA 98684
All shoes from this drive will be donated to Children of the Nation.
If you are interested in hosting a Shoe drive of your own contact us at Shoesforlifepdx@gmail.com
Dr. Benson and his wife Sarah started this program in 2008; it was their mission to help needy families and internationally through Children of the Nation. Dr. Benson is my Podiatrist, one day as I was in his office for a visit for my own feet I noticed a collection bin and flyers all over the office that caught my eye so I began to read them and ask a few questions. I contacted Dr. Benson about having a shoe drive in August telling him about our class and asking him if we could help, he gladly accepted but quickly referred me to his wife, Sarah. A few days later Sarah phoned me at home and we scheduled her to come into our classroom to speak about this wonderful program, she brought us a collection bin and a bunch of flyers to hang up all over the school and before I knew it we were up and running.
It was extremely important to me to get involved with this program and when our lab class at Everest College was looking for ideas to do a community project, I quickly spoke up with my idea, I knew it would be a great opportunity to help the less fortunate out.
In Haiti, as in many parts of the developing world, public and private schools have strict dress codes. Children, no matter how poor, cannot attend without shoes and a school uniform. As a result many poor children cannot get an education, and without it they cannot pull themselves from the intense poverty that dominates their lives. Children in developing countries face all kinds of barriers that keep them from school. Some must stay home to help around the house and care for younger siblings. In Central American countries, such as Nicaragua, children as young as 5 are compelled to work in the streets or fields to help support their families instead of going to school.
It makes me feel really good to help other people out and after knowing what these kids are going through, I am so glad we were givin the opportunity to help these children and their families. This is so important to me that I plan on keeping this going and have another shoe drive in the works. Thank you to all the students at Everest College who donated.
Keep donating please,
Vickie Aronson, M.A. student at Everest College