Kelvyn Park @ Share Your Soles

To kick off service events for Summer of Service and Leadership, Kelvyn Park High School went to Share Your Soles. Students spent the morning unpacking, sorting and dividing donated shoes. These shoes come from all over the Chicagoland area to the processing warehouse were our students served. Shoes must be discarded if torn, ripped or excessively worn. The shoes that were sorted will be washed, dried and sent to needy areas around the world, such as Sri Lanka and Ghana.

The work that our students did today ensures that recipients get shoes that serve them well and that they can accept with dignity. Even though sorting shoes might not feel like it makes a huge difference as each pair is inspected before it reaches it destination. It was great to see students discussing the need to serve others with respect. We discussed the role that volunteers should take as one that recognizes and values the worth of those they serve.

The students from Kelvyn Park look forward to their other service events over the five week course. Those other opportunities include a trip to the McCormick YMCA to work in a community garden with COB Connection and a day serving lunch at the Ronald McDonald House at the University of Chicago.