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S H O E C U T T I N G PA R T Y The above photo: These wonderful ladies taking time to help and support Sole Hope by organizing a shoe cutting party. From left to right: Joy Brewer, Julie Eising, Danielle Wildermuth, Cyndi Gillespie, Vicki Lassila and Pam Margiott.
Once we set the dates, we asked our school community to donate some of the items we’d need, like denim, black permanent markers, and money to sponsor the shoes. Student Myles Hailey from our school’s Wolfpack TV created an informational package for the daily broadcast to let our school community know about Sole Hope, educate them about jiggers, share about needed donations, and encourage them to sign up for a shoe cutting party. The only challenge I could foresee were the logistical challenges of whole classes of students simultaneously cutting shoes. With fabric scissors running $10 a pair, how would we have enough for each student? On Wolfpack TV, I told students that our most pressing need was for fabric scissors.
About a week after the broadcast, our ASB President, Olena Andrada, came to my classroom after school and presented me with four five dollar bills and thirteen ones. Wanting to help, she had baked cookies to sell to her friends to raise money to help buy fabric scissors. I went directly to JoAnn’s and had the pleasure of sharing the Sole Hope story with their friendly, helpful manager, Jennifer Hewers. Jennifer showed me a new line of notions for beginning sewers that they’d just started carrying, including fabric scissors for $4.99 a pair. They were on sale for $2.99 and she gave me a 20% discount. I immediately texted Olena, to let her
50. ardentforlife.net - Summer 2015
know that her $33.00 had just purchased 16 pairs of scissors! I stopped at Staples and saw some scissors on clearance so I bought some to try on the denim. They worked well and fellow Wolfpack member and friend, Jackie MacDonald, donated 12 pairs. Several Wolfpack families, and staff members, entrusted us with scissors to borrow and some donated them. We ended up with enough scissors for 40 students to cut at once!
Our shoe cutting parties and fund drive exceeded my expectations. In addition to our two shoe cutting parties, we provided time for students to cut shoes at our Link Crew sponsored Freshmen Fun Day. Some of our students in Tanaka Sensei’s Japanese class painted denim with fabric paint before cutting shoes. My Link Crew class also spent a morning with our Functional Living Skills students and helped them cut shoes. A freshman student came to my classroom and asked to borrow a template so she could cut shoes at home for community service hours. Enthusiastic Link Leaders like Chris Flores, walked around at lunch collecting money from students and my dear friend, Pam Margiott, ordered her own Shoe Cutting Party kit and hosted a party.
So, what was it about Ardent’s article that compelled me to host my shoe party? My friend Julie Smith summed it up in her Facebook comment…”Love how this project blends your love of crafting with your love of community, and love of serving others!” A shoe cutting party is inexpensive, repurposes old jeans, lets guests chat while being productive (like old fashioned quilting bees), and, most importantly— gives the participants the opportunity to do something tangible to positively affect the lives of children in Uganda.
I’m taking a little break from shoe cutting, focusing on end of the school-year events. When all was said and done, the students at Cosumnes Oaks cut 224 pairs of toddler size 8 shoes and collected $389. It cost $62.72 to mail the shoes Parcel Post. I still have lots of denim, sharpies, templates, and fabric scissors. If you live in Elk Grove and want to host a party, you are welcome to use the denim and borrow the informational DVD and supplies. All you need to provide is the workspace, invite guests, and mail the donations and shoes to SOLE HOPE, when you’re done. If you’re interested, please contact me via email: kwinslow2@comcast.net. I’ve had a number of students ask me, “Will we do this again next year?” My answer is an emphatic, “Yes!”