UNCW students collect shoes for homeland

Since the earthquake hit Haiti nearly a month ago, there have been dozens of relief efforts here in our community. One at UNCW Saturday stood out.

Two freshmen, Alain Pierre-Louis and Jeanelle Johnson, whose families call the island nation home organized the Soles4Souls drive. It’s an effort to collect shoes that can be shipped out to the needy children and families in Haiti.

The impact of the disaster has been tough for the students.

“It’s weird being in college and being so distant,” Johnson said. “Like even from my family here, like when that whole tragedy was happening, it’s kind of hard to like, ‘Who’s OK? Who’s not?’ You know the communication. So doing what I can from where I am.”

Soles4Souls has distributed more than seven-million shoes since it was founded in 2004.

If you missed the drive over the weekend, there’s still time before they ship out. You can drop off shoes throughout the week at Randall Library on campus.