SunRidge laces up for shoe drive

HOW TO DONATE

The deadline is March 20 to donate shoes at any of these collection sites in Winter Garden:

• SunRidge Elementary, 14455 SunRidge Blvd.

• Winter Garden City Hall, 300 W. Plant St.

• West Orange High School, 1625 Beulah Road

• Roper YMCA, 100 Windermere Road

• Publix Super Markets, 13750 W. Colonial Drive

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WINTER GARDEN — SunRidge Elementary students are working on a two-fold project that will support programs in Haiti and raise money for classroom computers at the Winter Garden school.

The Parent-Teacher Organization kicked off its shoe collection drive Feb. 17. Through March 20, the school will take shoes that are old or new, of any style, for both genders and for all ages. Prizes will be awarded to the top shoe collector and all students who take in 25 pairs of shoes. The class that collects the most will be treated to an ice-cream party.

As of last week, 750 pairs already have been collected at that school alone.

This drive takes the place of traditional fundraisers where students are asked to sell items such as wrapping paper or cookie dough. PTO representative Melissa Klyce said she was contacted by Funds2Orgs, a fundraising organization that was started in 2013 and has corporate offices in Orlando. 

“All the shoes collected are being placed into microenterprise programs in underdeveloped countries,” said Kyla Emmons, a fundraising strategist with Funds2Orgs. “People that have little to no income come to one of the micro-enterprise hubs and go through a free training course on how to own and operate a small business.

“They are then provided with a free assortment of the shoes, which they take into their local marketplace and begin to sell — which develops an income for them,” she said. “They are then able to come back and purchase their second set of shoes at a very low cost, which is how Funds2Orgs develops funds to distribute back out to the groups in the United States doing the collections. This program helps gain self-sustainability in third-world areas and raises funds for SunRidge Elementary.”

And while the program helps underprivileged folks overseas, local students also are getting a lesson in helping others.

Although new or gently worn shoes are preferred, the company accepts shoes with considerable wear and tear because they can be broken down into raw materials and used to repair another pair or create an entirely new pair of shoes.

After the collection drive ends later this month, SunRidge will package the shoes in bags provided and send them to the warehouse. Once the donations are weighed, Funds2Orgs issues a check and a participation certificate.

One organization in Williamsburg, Virginia, collected more than 8,000 pounds of shoes and received a check for $3,224.

SunRidge Elementary’s goal is 300 bags, each containing 25 pairs of shoes.

Contact Amy Quesinberry Rhode at [email protected].