by Gopi Shammas
In Haiti, over 640,000 children under the age of 15 live in extreme poverty and due to the devastating earthquake this number is on the rise. Many of those children do not attend school, simply because they do not have a pair of shoes to keep them healthy and safe as they make the journey. A simple pair of shoes can protect Haitian children’s feet from bruises, cuts and life threatening diseases that can be contracted through their feet, and can allow these children the opportunity to attend school. This year, our goal is to collect over 10,000 pairs of shoes! We need your help to collect gently used and wearable shoes, for both kids and adults. Through the Disney “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” Family volunteer program…many area schools, churches and organizations have joined this effort. There will be several supporting shoe collection efforts throughout the city of Atlanta from now till February 20th. The Atlanta Academy, located at 2000 Holcomb Woods Parkway in Roswell, will serve as a drop off location on February 1st through February 5th.
On February 20th, Healthy Notions will host a final community-wide, shoe drive celebration event at the Kroger located on 3000 Old Alabama Road, Alpharetta GA. Volunteers, families and friends are coming together to drop off donations and celebrate the values of kindness, compassion, community responsibility and good citizenship. There will be prizes, food and fun for participants.
More than ever, the children of Haiti need our help. With a simple gift, let’s give the children of Haiti the hope that all children deserve.
For more information on how to participate, please visit https://healthynotionskids.com/ or https://www.atlantaacademy.com/.