Freedom from hunger club hosts shoe drive
HUB Staff Writer–
Student from Davis High brought their lightly worn shoes to Widgen Neagley’s room, early in the morning of Nov. 20, in exchange for a free Noah’s bagels.
The Freedom From Hunger club at DHS hosted their annual shoe drive, racking in 57 pairs of shoes and beating their tally of fifty shoes the previous year.
“Our mission is to help people in need and [the shoe drive] is one way we can do that,” senior co-president Sophie Meads said.
They donate all of the shoes to Short Term Emergency Aid Committee (STEAC), in order to provide shoes to locals who are unable to afford their own.
Junior Gabe Leal, who donated multiple pairs of shoes, believes that giving is very important in the community.
“When my dad was growing up, he was poor, his family had very little money, and so they all wore flip-flops because they couldn’t afford shoes,” Leal said.
Leal has witnessed people need shoes in undeveloped countries.
“When I visited third world countries, I would see the people there with sandals or flip-flops, and their feet would be torn up because they would usually travel on gravel, and the rocks would get in their feet. I think that people should always be able to have shoes,” Leal said.
Neagley has overseen the club for three years and believes strongly in this cause.
“[This is] a really passionate group of kids.They are very included in the school, and they are going to take it to the college level,” Neagley said.
The shoe drive is one of the smaller projects that the Freedom From Hunger club does throughout the year. During the fall, they do small projects including the adopt-a-family program where they send presents to a family in need.
“The main thing we do to help others is the race to end hunger track meet, and we plan all spring for it,” Meads said.
The money they raise through fundraising goes either locally through STEAC, or through a group to help the needy in Africa, India and Asia.
