Greg Woodburn, a student at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of time cleaning sneakers he collected.But soon the shoes will be sent to poor children in the United States and 20 other countries, thanks to Woodburn's Share Our Soles (S.O.S.) charity. A high school track star in the town of Ventura, California, Woodburn was treated in hospital for months with knee and hip injuries. "I started thinking about the health benefits, the friendship and the confidence I got from running," he says, "And I realized there are children who don't even have shoes." Woodburn gathered up his old sneakers, then asked his friends to donate.His goal was to have 100 pairs by Christmas this year.When he collected more than 500 pairs, he decided to turn the shoe drive into a year-round endeavor. Back then, the sneakers came from donation boxes at the YMCA and the local sporting goods store and from door-to-door pickups.Woodburn has now set up collection boxes at two high schools, city gym and recreation center.He has started accepting adult sizes and sandals.So far, S.O.S has collected and donated more than 3,000 pairs. Woodburn has cleaned all the shoes.After sorting the shoes by size, Woodburn selects the good shoes for the washing machine and the worn-out ones for recycling. To ship the footwear, Woodburn teamed with Sports Gift, a nonprofit organization that provides soccer and baseball equipment to children around the world.Keven Baxter, founder and president, says, "We'd send kids balls and shoes.I've heard that for many of these kids, these old sneakers are the only shoes they had.They wear them to school and to do sports.So Greg's running shoes were a nice addition for us." For many recipients, the shoes represent opportunity.Two young boys in Southern California attended school on alternate days because they shared a pair of shoes.They were too big for one boy and too small for the other.Thanks to S.O.S., each brother received his own pair of shoes.The boys now attend school daily and enjoy their learning.When they graduate, they say, they will help a stranger, just as Woodburn helped them. What can we learn from Keven Baxter's remarks?
Sports Gift is popular around the world. Many children need Greg's old sneakers. Greg's running shoes are the best gifts for children. International organization should provide more help.