Making a Difference

Before I became the Holt County TeamMates Coordinator, I was involved in another mentoring program through our local high school, that was called, “Respect Groups”. During this time, I was very inspired by the founder of TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie and his One-to-One philosophy towards helping others. Determined to provide shoes to children in a poverty stricken country and give our local teens a peak into another culture, I helped form a Students4Souls Challenge with the Soles4Souls organization. Our Respect Group students & leaders assisted in collecting 13, 694 pairs of shoes, which we donated to Soles4Souls to be used throughout the world as needed. We then traveled to Costa Rica with one of our students to distribute shoes to children in need, in the village of LaCarpio, Costa Rica. Everyone on our distribution team, was touched in some way, never to be forgotten. Even though, I treasure those children, whose names I didn’t have the privilege of learning, their grateful spirit compels me to keep finding ways, to make a difference.