(Photo Credit: Western Illinois University)
(Photo Credit: Western Illinois University)
One Western Illinois University student athlete has turned a stack of spare shoes into thousands of pairs for those in need around the globe.
Kelsey Marlow, a senior volleyball player at WIU, has collected more than 3,150 pairs of shoes for the Nashville, Tennessee, based nonprofit Soles 4 Souls, a WIU release said.
Marlow, who majors in psychology, said the idea to collect shoes for donation came to her as she packed up to head home to Indiana for the summer.
"I was packing to go home after my junior year of college and I realized how many pairs of shoes were collecting at the bottom of my closet," Marlow said in the release. She said she decided to donate to Soles 4 Souls because it delivers to people in 127 countries and provides jobs for people in developing nations.
Marlow said she started collecting shoes from friends and others by promoting the effort through social media. She said in the release her initial goal was to collect 2,500 pairs for Soles 4 Souls.
As shoes started stacking up, Marlow said she stored them in her parents’ garage. She is now asking for donations that can be used to purchase storage containers and help cover expenses associated with shoe distribution.
When she is finished collecting shoes, Marlow said she is planning a mission trip to a foreign country to distribute the shoes.
“I have tried to embody being a servant leader to others and I hope to make this trip early next summer,” Marlow said in the release.
Marlow said she is thankful for everyone who has supported her campaign and her parents for their help with the project.
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