When Drayton resident Jim Curry set out in December to collect 1,000 pairs of used shoes to be shipped to Haiti, he wasn’t sure he would be able to do it.
“That’s a lot of shoes,” the Mapleton councillor originally thought.
But by the end of last month, thanks to the generosity of residents, groups, and churches, Curry doubled his goal, collecting about 2,000 pairs at drop-off points at the Wellington Street Cafe and Alva Cherrey’s Garage in Drayton, as well as Reformed Churches in Drayton and Listowel.
“This thing just rolled … the response was phenomenal. It was more than we could anticipate,” Curry said.
But it didn’t stop there. Diversco Systems Inc., in Cambridge, heard about the “Shoes for Haiti” campaign and, in cooperation with the American charity Soles4Souls, donated 27,000 new pairs to the cause.
That brought the grand total to about 30,000 pairs of shoes being shipped to Haiti this year, and many are crediting Curry with the remarkable achievement.
“Without Jim’s connection, those shoes – and they’re all brand new – would have ended up in a landfill,” Sylvia Forgrave said of the Diversco donation.
Her husband’s pedothorist practice started collecting used shoes several years ago for various third world countries, including Guyana, the Congo, El Salvador and Cuba.
In fact, it was during a routine visit to Mike Forgrave and Associates, in Kitchener, that Curry found out about this year’s campaign to help those in Haiti.
“One little sign in our office was all it took … and the right man saw it – and that’s Jim Curry,” Mike Forgrave told the Advertiser.
Added Sylvia, “Jim saw the sign [asking for donated shoes] and made it his own personal mission to collect 1,000 pairs of shoes.”
Sylvia explained the idea to collect “gently used” shoes started about five or six years ago after a client at her husband’s office asked for help collecting shoes for children in Guyana, where she had visited on a mission trip.
At first Sylvia and Mike were skeptical of their ability to help out, but it wasn’t long before donations at the office thrice filled the lady’s van.
“It just grew from there,” Sylvia said. “It’s so easy to do; everybody has shoes that they don’t wear.”
The need in Guyana was particularly for children, who are not allowed to attend school without shoes, and many parents can not afford to purchase them. The same things is also happening in Haiti.
“It’s more than just a pair of shoes,” Mike Forgrave said of the donations. “It allows them to do so much more. It also gives them dignity.”
Curry agreed, saying, “We’re able to help a lot of kids get an education by providing them with proper shoes. It’s a great cause.”
Mike Forgrave said one of his colleagues who travelled to Haiti has relayed the obvious need for the shoes there.
“It’s just amazing what they don’t have,” he said.
He hopes to be part of a 12-person team of foot care experts travelling to Haiti sometime this spring to volunteer there and give out some of the shoes.
Looking back on this year’s campaign, Mike laughs at the original goal of 800 to 1,000 pairs of shoes.
“I’m extremely pleased with the response,” he said, noting some people even bought brand new shoes and socks to donate to the cause. “It’s really great to see the human spirit really come out.”
Grand River Physiotherapy in Fergus also welcomed shoe donations from that area on behalf of Forgrave, Curry noted, adding the response to the Shoes for Haiti campaign was always positive, whether it was in Kitchener, Cambridge, Centre Wellington, or Mapleton.
“I’m really pleased with the way the community responded. It was amazing,” Curry said. “To see such community spirit was remarkable … We’re very thankful.”
Officials at Diversco did not return a call by press time.
