Summit Celebrate Recovery of Elkins finished up a 90 day shoe drive. The group had drop off points set up in Elkins area, Mabie, Thomas, and Parsons.
The gently worn shoes were collected to send to underdeveloped countries such as Botswana, Honduras, and Haiti. Not only are the shoes used for those in need, but the shoes that need repair are used to provide income to small business entrepreneurs.
“This fundraiser is the ultimate idea for a program like ours”, says Angie Davis, one of the ministry leaders, “It provides shoes for those in need, it provides a service where participants can give back as stated in Step 12, and in addition we raise funds for our program in that we are paid 40 cents per pound. Another bonus is no selling or handling money!”
The organization, Funds2orgs.com set a goal for us to collect 300 bags of 25 pair each. “ This goal seemed quite reachable to me since I am a packrat and had 50 pair of shoes out of my own personal closet!” laughs ministry leader, Angie Davis. “However, two months in our shoe bag count was a mere 50-60 bags!—so we kicked it into high gear and set up drop off points all over the region, and called on friends from out of the area as well!” A huge contributor was Clarksburg Mission, who donated over 50 bags of shoes from their thrift store. One lady from the Clarksburg area, Toni Beecher, felt led to help us and she combed yard sales and flea markets for us and donated about 25 bags to the shoe drive. Several churches all over the region collected for us as well.
The grand total was 231 bags—short of the 300 bag total; however, we had a minimum goal of 200 bags. If a shoe drive is less than 200 bags, contributors have to pay shipping costs of around $200. Plus, apparently shoes and boots in West Virginia weigh more than other parts of the country, because the bags collected were heavy! The average bag weight according to Funds2orgs is 20 pounds and our local bags averaged 28.5 pounds! 6600.5 pounds of shoes were gathered by Summit Celebrate Recovery! Prep for pickup requires bagging up shoes by rubber banding them together and counting out 25 pair per bag. It sounds simple, but is quite time consuming and a dirty, stinky job! The Celebrate Recovery participants banded together and contributed their time and efforts to make the fundraiser successful. They were rewarded with a check for $2,640.20. The program is planning to use this money to buy advertising at the Elkins 8 Cinema Theater.
Celebrate Recovery is a 12-Step program much like Alcoholics Anonymous, but the Higher Power has a name and that name is Jesus Christ. There are Celebrate Recoveries all over the US and the world. There are many popping up all over West Virginia as well. Summit Celebrate Recovery meets every Thursday at 6pm at Summit Church, 302 Goff Street, Elkins. Celebrate Recovery is not just for addicts. It is for anyone who has a hurt, habit, or hang-up—which is basically everyone. It is for addicts, those who love addicts, those struggling with losing someone or feeling rejected, those who struggle with gambling or pornography or overeating—it is a place where people can safely talk about issues without worry of being condemned or judged. Check out www.celebraterecovery.com to find out more! A small group just started at Hendricks UMC, for more info, call Loren Metzner at 478-3439.