Photo by Abby Bellow
Students with soles to spare can support an international cause brought to campus through junior Janey Weast.
The Church of Christ in Skiatook, Oklahoma began collecting shoes for orphans in their area. This year, they took their collections across seas to Ukraine to help those suffering from the political distress.
The initiative takes Americans’ donation of shoes and sends them to refugees in Ukraine. Ukrainian orphanages have a government allotted monthly budget for the children’s basic necessities, including shoes, medicine and food.
“The orphanages get a set amount of money for shoes per child,” Janey said. “The shoes in Ukraine are not as good quality as the ones in America. Sending them our shoes means that they can use the shoe money the government gives the orphanages and uses it for medicine instead. So they now have better quality shoes and more medicine.”
Janey said her father, Aaron Weast, suggested Oklahoma Christian University host a shoe drive for the cause.
“Bringing it to OC has brought a knowledge of the situation in Ukraine to OC,” Janey said. “[It] is a great impact in itself.”
Aaron came up with the idea to donate shoes to these places after he went on a mission trip to Ukraine and saw the need they had.
“I decided to go on a mission trip with a church…” Aaron said. “Through this trip I met several people with the Let’s Love mission (a Ukrainian Church of Christ organization in Kharkiv) over in Ukraine. I was looking for a way to help, and they told me that shoes are a big factor.”
Aaron said he came home and was excited to start his mission work for Ukraine right away.
“I went home and then helped organize shoes and socks to be sent over to Ukraine,” Aaron said. “The mission has grown so fast that it amazes me and we seem to get more shoes each month than the one before. Now, it has grown big enough that we are collecting shoes from surrounding states to organize.”
Brittany Oddy, Iota Kappa Phi Social Service Director, organized the shoe drive at Oklahoma Christian through Iota Kappa Phi.
“I really wish the club could have created a bigger impact in this area of missions,” Oddy said. “I feel like if more people see the need and the impact that their shoes can make then maybe they might be more willing to donate.”
Oddy and Janey said that they hope for a bigger donation at the next shoe drive on Oklahoma Christian’s campus.
“Janey and I simply set out donation boxes for students to donate any unwanted shoes,” Oddy said. “The collection drive was great because students could simply go through their closets, yet will make a big difference for people in Ukraine.”
Janey said Oklahoma Christian students will try again to make the service project work on campus.
“The shoes [previously have gone] to orphans and their orphanages, now we are sending them to Let’s Love to hand out to the refugees that have been displaced recently,” Janey said. “My dad goes to Ukraine around once a year to visit the orphanages and organize a summer camp.”
For more information about donating, email janey.weast@eagles.oc.edu or Aarobyn@gmail.com.
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