The Voice of Shoes

ExxonMobil Interns Collect, Sort Shoes for Orphans

By Brittany Black
Buckner International

MESQUITE, Texas – Bridget Bennett was asked to donate five pairs of shoes for orphans as part of her service project for the ExxonMobil Community Summer Job Program, but she managed to collect 44.

“I thought, ‘Let’s get as many as possible,’” Bennett said. “I cleared out a couple of stores.”

Bennett was one of 74 college students who volunteered at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid July 15. As summer interns, the students work at non-profits in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for eight weeks. They attend three developmental seminars and do one service project.

“Each year the interns come up with a service project at a different nonprofit,” said Emily Snooks, program officer for Exxon Mobil Corporation. “This year, shoes spoke to them.”

The voice of shoes might not have been so loud if it hadn’t been for Natalie Hedge, the ExxonMobil summer intern for Buckner International.

Hedge thought it would be a good idea for the interns to host a shoe drive and then volunteer to sort them. She set the goal to collect 500 pairs of shoes, but the group exceeded expectations with 504 pairs.

Natalie Hedge, ExxonMobil intern for Buckner International, helped organize the project.

Half of the interns spent the day sorting shoes scheduled for an upcoming shipment to Guatemala while the rest painted the hallways and break room walls.

“I have been on a summer mission trip with Buckner where we distributed shoes to orphans and thought it was a great cause with a great impact,” Hedge said. “When you experience it, you have a heart for it; not for yourself, not for Buckner, but for the kids.”

To find out how you can collect shoes or volunteer at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, call 1-866-774-SHOE(7463) or visit www.shoesfororphansouls.org.