Portage Kiwanis Collect Shoes To Help The Needy

Portage Kiwanis Collect Shoes To Help The Needy

There is an old and well-known proverb which reads, “Do not judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” This saying teaches compassion, empathy and seeks to encourage people to try to understand the burdens of others.

The Portage Kiwanis took this age-old saying a (literal) step further this year by organizing a shoe drive to help not just impoverished people overseas, but local residents who need assistance, as well.

The Kiwanis invited us to visit with them recently, as they prepared to ship off the shoes they'd collected during the drive.

Cathy Reed, Treasurer of the Portage Kiwanis club, was excited about the drive, and very happy with the outcome of all their hard work.

“We partnered with funds2org.com to make this possible, and bring this all together. We collected the shoes, and they're being taken to a shipping facility, where they will be sent to several impoverished, 3rd world countries. There, they'll be distributed among local residents, who will then prepare those shoes for resale to customers in those countries. So, it's a hand-up, not a hand-out charity. This will be teaching those distributors in those countries how to effectively run a business, as well as helping people there be able to have shoes which they otherwise would not be able to afford.”

Reed walked us back out to the barn behind the First United Church of Portage to show us the results of all their efforts. We walked through an old wooden door and turned to see mountains of plastic bags, all stuffed with pairs of shoes, ready to go.

“Each bag contains 25 pairs of shoes,” Reed said. “Our goal was to collect 300 bags of shoes. We went far above that goal, collecting roughly 345 bags of shoes, or about 8,600 pairs of shoes.”

Kiwanis-Shoe-2“But that's not all...” Reed said, smiling as the truck backed up to the doorway and volunteers from the Portage Streets Department lined up to start loading the van. “Every bag of shoes we collected pays us roughly $10, for a total of well over $3,000. So we will then donate that money to help local charities, including Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, and the rest will go to help Gabriel's Horn, local food pantries, etc.”

“This has just been a great event. We really would like to thank all those who came out to help here today, as well as those who donated and made this possible. It's really just a wonderful thing, to be able to help so many people.” said Reed.

Jerry Dixon, co-chairman with the Portage Kiwanis took a break from loading the dozens of bags to speak with us about the shoe drive.</p><p>

“We're very happy with the results of this drive.” said Dixon. “So many people pitched in to help with this. We got donations from as far away as Michigan City and Whiting. So many people here in northwest Indiana, all pulling together to make this happen.”

“We're just really thankful to be able to do this.” said Dixon, as the last of the bags were tossed into the truck. “It's an incredible feeling... helping so many people.”