Many of the children in the distressed regions of Appalachia go without shoes in the summer because they need to save them for winter. And, those children who have shoes are generally wearing ill-fitting and worn-out, hand-me-downs that are sizes too small or too large.
We are excited to announce our very first Monkey Do Project effort, something we’re calling Project Appalachia Tennis Shoes, or PATS.
We connected with Lynn of the West Virginia Counties Family Resource Network and Lynn let us know that they have a great need for shoes to help the kids of Clay county, West Virginia, when they go to 4-H camp in the summer. The camp, which consists of mainly middle- and high school kids, teaches responsibility, leadership, healthy living and life skills. All information that these kids may not be exposed to at home.
According to Karen, who assists with the camp:
Some youth come to camp prepared, but in the past we have had a number of children show up in shoes that were too small and/or worn out. The active life at camp would cause shoes to finally fall apart. Sometimes youth come to camp with just flip flops because it is all the shoes that they own. We tell them to bring closed-toed shoes however often that doesn’t happen.
For this project, we are asking for financial donations of $30–or any amount you can give, or for new, unused socks and tennis shoes (athletic shoes) in the following sizes:
Men’s sizes 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
Women’s sizes 6, 7, 8 and 9
If you would like to include an extra $5 with your financial donation or when sending us your tennis shoes/socks to help cover shipping to the camp, we would appreciate it.
We’re so excited to provide children with athletic shoes that will allow them to enjoy their camp experience and also allow them some support as the shoes travel home with them.
Let us know if you have any questions.
This project will end May 30, 2012, in order to get the shoes to the camp kids in time.
All donations can be shipped to: Monkey Do Project, P.O. Box 78335, Indianapolis, IN 46278
Clay county West Virginia is located in the middle of the state. In 2009, almost 40% of the residents had an income below the poverty rate. It was reported in 2011 that 35% of the children in Clay county live in poverty.
March 3, 2012
Deanna
I am always glad to see local charities. Americans are eager to help other countries, often overlooking our own back yards.
People don’t know much about the Appalachian areas {just what they’ve seen on Beverly Hillbillies} but there is serious poverty with little hope to improve their situation.