Kids Helping Kids

On May 27th, our school (Canyon Creek Elementary) participated in a shoe-cutting party for Sole Hope.

What is Sole Hope?
Sole Hope is a non-profit organization that puts closed-toe shoes on the feet of children in Uganda. They also provide jobs to women and men in Uganda learning the trade of making these shoes. Finally, this organization provides medical care for the feet of these precious children, through volunteer visitors and an on-site staff.

Why?
In Africa, many children are seriously infected with jiggers, which are small sand fleas that enter bare feet and burrow into the skin. If left untreated, jiggers can lead to infection, paralysis, and even amputation.

How are we helping?
The shoes are made of recycled materials from the US. Over the past month, the students and community at Canyon Creek collected blue jeans and plastic. At this shoe cutting party, we cut out material for shoes to be shipped to Uganda, where they will be assembled into shoes by artisans employed by Sole Hope.

Our school's goal was to make 90 pairs of shoes… but we underestimated the power we have here at Canyon Creek. Since last week, our students have cut, organized and assembled almost 300 pairs of shoes!!! Bins were overflowing with donations, parents came in to assist with preparation, kids skipped their recess to help and we are still not done!

It costs Sole Hope $10.00 PER PAIR of shoes to complete the process…that is getting them to Uganda, purchasing the supplies for the rubber soles, paying the shoemakers and tailors, and purchasing some medical supplies necessary for the jigger removals that happen before the children get their new shoes.

Original Goal: 90 pairs of shoes x $10 = $900 – We are almost there!

NEW Goal: 300 pairs of shoes x  $10 = $3,000

Reaching Out—As a staff, we thought we could handle the fundraising and money. However, with the students’ above and beyond effort, we are in over our heads and are reaching out for community support.

The students have been doing the bulk of the work (with some parent and teacher volunteers). They have collected and organized materials, traced patterns and then cut the denim and plastic for the shoes. They are sacrificially giving with their time and service. Help us support the students by donating to this great cause. Every donation is important, no matter how big or small.

To donate to our Canyon Creek fundraising page you can go to www.purecharity.org/sole-hope-at-cc. Canyon Creek does not touch any of the money. Through Pure Charity, we can track our donations but the money goes directly to Sole Hope.

You can also donate at http://www.solehope.org/pages/donate/ through the organization itself. 

Yes. Sole Hope a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record.

If a donation is not possible, we are still collecting medical supplies.

Foot Washing and Jigger Removal supplies

Stickers for the children
Large Safety Pins
Surgical Gloves
Cotton Balls
Medical Tape
Antibiotic Cream
Gauze
Band Aids

You can also purchase items for Sole Hope on Amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/1JE908AM7VX6T

If you would like to learn more about Sole Hope, you can go to www.solehope.org or watch this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMl-hE9CdZ8.

Thank you so much for your time and support of this worthy cause.

Chrissy Baumgartner

chrissybaumgartner@gmail.com
(206) 802-5015