Shoe Bank

Any of you who read my blog consistently (when I actually write), know I mostly only write about 3 things - Music, God's work in my life, and charity work.

This Post is no different.

Sunday, I went out with Jerry Goodall (Wendy's boss) and Kirk, and we went and saw a movie (The Eagle), and then sat drinking coffee at Starbucks. Later, we went back to the Goodall's house to meet up with Wendy, Julie and Anita.

I can't remember know how the topic came up, but very briefly we spoke on the following topic, and I had what I consider a 'brilliant' idea. It was a short conversation, but it's caused me to envision huge things.


When Wendy and I were in Armenia with Armenian Gospel Mission (AGM), one of the things we did was give shoes to the kids at the Schools run by AGM (called ARDA in Armenia). It certainly was one of the most memorable experiences there. Most of these kids have never owned a new pair of shoes. Quite honestly, many of them wear shoes way too small, way too big, or wear slippers because they don't own any shoes that fit (and slippers don't hurt so much if your feet are 3 sizes too large for them). It's stunning really. Such a small thing we take for granted. Shoes.





When we gave these kids their shoes (new shoes, nice, and fit them to their feet), the excitement, chaos, and emotions were the sweetest dessert I've ever tasted.








Many of the kids just wanted to carry the shoes in their box like a treasure. We had mothers come in after picking up their child(ren) with tears in their eyes, so grateful for the gift.









There were about 7 kids we encountered whose feet were too large for any of the shoes we had with us. One of the 7 was so worried he wouldn't get a pair, he crammed his feet into one pair insisting that they fit just fine, while the tops of his feet bulged out of the shoes. Even when we told him not to worry, that we'd get him a pair just for his size, he still wouldn't give them up.

The crazy thing about Armenia, is that for the most part, everything there is very inexpensive. Food especially. That's a good thing, though relative to living, since many of these families make about $50-$80 a month. However, when we went to buy shoes for the 7 kids that didn't get any (well, 6 plus the one kid who took the small shoes), we found that, on average, kids shoes cost $40, and that's even for the low quality tennis shoes! That's basically a full months salary! (Don't worry. We still got the 7 pairs :-) )

The problem with kids shoes is that they hardly wear them. Sure, I have shoes that are so worn, that the soles are sloped, have a hole through the sole at the heel, and threads are coming apart. But kids grow out of their shoes so quickly that they often are in perfect shape, but are now sized incorrectly.

It was cool to give the shoes away. It would be even cooler to keep giving them away. But what would be the coolest?

What if we took the idea further, and setup a "Shoe Bank" in Armenia run by ARDA (or in other poverty stricken areas run by charities). Families could buy a pair of shoes, or be gifted a pair to begin with. Then, as their child grew, they could bring the shoes to the Shoe Bank. The shoes would be inspected on the spot, and a replacement pair of the correct size would be given back to the family relative to the quality of the shoes brought in.

Eventually, the family will get less and less quality shoes as they wear out the pairs they have, and then get similarly worn shoes in return. At some point, they'd have to "reinvest" in a pair of shoes. In the meantime, they won't have to struggle with the fact that their child is growing too rapidly.

There would never be a requirement to bring back the shoes they were given. After all, the original investment (or gift) was theirs to begin with. This simply allows a single investment to "grow" with the child.

Anyway, that's what's on my mind today.