By Nathan Howell / Staff Writer

ALABASTER — Kingwood Christian School is currently participating in the Shoes for Hope program with the goal of collecting gently worn shoes to donate to needy communities throughout the world.

KCS teacher Stephanie Cochran wanted to find a simple way to make a broad impact in the lives of underprivileged communities. When considering ideas, she thought about the need for shoes in our daily lives and recognized that there was a unique opportunity to help people.

“The average woman owns about 17 pairs of shoes, but only regularly uses three,” she said. “Half the world lives on $2 a day and millions of people die every day due to not being able to afford shoes, and many children across the world can’t attend schools because they don’t have shoes to wear.”

After doing this research, Cochran said she knew that Shoes for Hope was a worthy cause and decided to partner with Missions in Motion International, an international ministry group, with the goal of collecting 2,500 pairs of shoes over a two month period.

She said if the goal is met, Missions in Motion will collect the shoes and distribute them to needy communities across the world or sell them to make charitable donations.

Within the first week of the program, there were almost 300 donations, according to Cochran. Since then, local community members and churches have donated over 535 pairs.

The program has been a big hit with KCS students. They are actively participating in donating and spreading information about the drive.

“They are really excited,” said Cochran. “They are asking me every day how many shoes we’ve gotten and what we need.”

The school needs around 2,000 pairs of shoes to meet the requirement for the drive and is asking for donations from the community. Anyone interested in making a donation can bring gently used or new pairs of shoes by the KCS front office or arrange a drop off with Cochran by calling KCS at 663-3973.