Analiz G. Schremmer

One thing is certain: Shoes for Orphan Souls would not be what it is without the support of Christian radio stations.

In 1995, KCBI Radio in Dallas, Texas began Shoes for Orphan Souls under the name Shoes for Russian Souls. Buckner International assumed leadership of the program in 1999 and changed the name to reflect its global reach.

“More than 35 radio stations have served Shoes for Orphan Souls over the last 11 years,” said Julia Stark, Shoes for Orphan Souls program manager. “Our volunteer radio stations promote and conduct shoe drives and mission trips and deliver shoes. In 2009, 31,685 shoes were donated thanks to our radio station supporters. We wouldn’t have the national reach that we have obtained without them.”

Shoes for Orphan Souls Director Rachel Garton said radio drives have allowed many individuals to travel and put shoes on the feet of children they hear about on the radio.

“We wouldn’t have nearly the same impact that we have had without our radio stations,” Garton said, adding that WMBW has been advertising Shoes for Orphan Souls for 10 years now.

“WMBW partners with Buckner International with the desire to involve listeners who want to help orphans around the world hear the good news of Jesus Christ through the gift of new shoes and socks,” said Leighton LeBoeuf, WMBW general manager.

Buckner would like to thank all of the radio stations involved with Shoes for Orphan Souls this year:

WBFJ – Winston Salem, North Carolina
WMBW – Chattanooga, Tenn.
WFCM - Middle Tennessee
The Joy FM – Sarasota, Fla.
WDLM – East Moline , Ill.
Radio By Grace – Amarillo, Texas

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.

By Andrew Crowson

Southern Ethiopia is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Banana trees, palms and ferns make this jungle region feel like a tropical oasis. The only thing more breathtaking than the beauty of the landscape is the poverty.

Our bus, which bore close resemblance to the “Mystery Machine” from Scooby-doo cartoons, was at least 20 years old. This steel cage took us on roads most people would only tempt with the latest in four-wheel-drive trucks. The driver, who we affectionately dubbed “Moe,” was ever-capable and knowledgeable of the roadways and dirt-pathways of rural Ethiopia. However, somewhere between Addis Ababa and Awassa, it appeared that neither Moe, nor our porters “Larry” and “Curly” knew where we were.

This situation would have been much funnier if it didn’t coincide with my first experience of the African version of nighttime. The darkness that envelops the African landscape at night is hard to explain. Envelops is the wrong word, though, suffocates is more apt. Nothing stands in the way of the black cloud of African night. It is the darkest place on Earth. If you put a blindfold on and then shoot out your circuit-breakers on a moonless night, you might come close to a normal evening on the Dark Continent. Eventually Larry, Curly, and Moe found their way to our hotel in Awassa.

The razor-wire surrounding the walls of the hotel in Awassa let me know what kind of neighborhood it was in. Most of Africa is in a bad neighborhood of one kind or another. Every time the Mystery Machine would roll into town in southern Ethiopia, it was surrounded by people. I worried these people would be disappointed when they found out the Beatles weren’t inside, but when we stepped off we were greeted as if we actually were John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

Arbe Gona and Bona were two towns we visited where we were the first group Buckner had ever sent. These people were so excited to see us it was almost overwhelming. Several times on our treks over dirt roads, the Mystery Machine would inexplicably have to stop in the middle of the road. Either it would break down or the truck following us would need a pit stop. We were never really told the reasons for these stops, but we didn’t worry. We knew Curly would take good care of us. When the Mystery Machine would stop, people would show up out of nowhere. Literally dozens of people would materialize around the bus mere seconds after it stopped. I don’t know where they came from, but they were always there to stare at the Americans.

These schools we visited are full of children. We put shoes on the feet of 800 kids in the three days we spent at the schools. Each pair of shoes was met by an ear-to-ear smile of a child who previously might have never known what a new pair of shoes looked like. In a country where the poverty is as asphyxiating as the injera bread, every kid needs all the help he or she can get. These orphans wouldn’t have a chance if someone didn’t give them one.

While some kids roam the streets of Addis Ababa begging for food, these kids are in schools breaking the cycle of poverty with education.

National schools teach high-school-age kids to become plumbers, carpenters and hairdressers, among other jobs, which are in high demand in a developing nation like Ethiopia. Buckner is changing the face of Ethiopia by equipping young people with the skills they need and with the unfailing love of Christ. Feeding, clothing, and equipping kids are what Buckner does as well as, if not better than, any organization out there.

Women from the Junior League of Dallas sort shoes with children from Buckner’s after-school programs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. After sorting shoes, they helped each child choose a pair for themselves.

By Analiz G. Schremmer

DALLAS, Texas — Thirty-seven new members of the Junior League of Dallas participated in a provisional project with Buckner International and Shoes for Orphan Souls.

The women spent time making crafts with 29 children from two of Buckner’s after-school programs in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. They also worked with the children to sort shoes for orphans and needy children around the world.

After their service, the women from the Junior League helped each child find a pair of shoes to take home.

“We spent the first Saturday sorting shoes, food and clothing as part of a 20-hour project for new members,” said Tiffany Hartgraves, Junior League member who coordinated the event.

“The second Saturday we were able to work directly with the kids to help them find their perfect pair of shoes. It was a wonderful way to bring the project all together.”

Helen Goblirsch, Junior League of Dallas member, poses for a picture with one of the children from a Buckner after-school program. A group of 41 women from the Junior League spent 20 hours volunteering at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid and working with children.

The Junior League of Dallas has been involved in the community since 1922, giving more than 120,000 hours of uncompensated time and more than a million dollars annually to help local non-profits.

Mandy Main, one of the Junior League volunteers, said she decided to participate in this project because she wanted to work with children.

“It’s amazing to see how many shoes go out of this warehouse! We packaged up 6,500 shoes last alone last Saturday,” she said.

The children did a step routine for the Junior League and taught them part of it. They hugged for pictures, laughed together and made new friends.

“It is great for the children to volunteer and to help those who are less fortunate than them instead of always being the recipients of help,” said Cheryl Williams, director of apartment ministries in the Wynnewood Community Services Center.

“It is empowering for them. And I know that their time with the Junior League ladies shows them that one day, they can grow up to be committed volunteers and make a difference in the world around them, too.”

(DALLAS, Texas) – Dallas Independent School District staff and personnel put the American proverb to practice May 9 when they gathered to ‘Walk in Mile in My Shoes’ and collect new athletic shoes for Dallas students and orphans around the world.

Staff collected 170 pairs of new shoes and 53 pairs of socks at the staff development event, which was created to promote diversity, philanthropy and exercise. More donations are expected to be gathered in bins positioned throughout the school district’s facilities in the coming weeks.

The event was organized by Staff Development Coordinator Victoria Calder, who first heard about Shoes for Orphan Souls after reading a news article in the Dallas Morning News.

“When I read that article, I thought, ‘We’ve got to do something to help them,” she said. “More than 75 percent of our student population is on free or reduced lunch. And this summer, we’ve expecting to receive 400 immigrants. Many of them come without shoes.”

Half of the collected shoes are designated to go back to DISD students; the other half will be distributed as needed in the United States or in countries abroad.

Jim Mullins, a plumber with the DISD Service Center, brought eight pairs of shoes to the event to represent eight members of his team.

“I think it’s great that y’all are doing this,” he said. “I feel blessed by my own abundance in my life. So I’m happy to do something for the less fortunate. If a child’s in need, those of us who are able to help should do so in any way they can.”

Shoes for Orphan Souls is a ministry of Buckner International. Since 1999, more than 1.6 million pairs of shoes have been distributed to orphans and at-risk children and families in more than 60 countries around the world.

(DALLAS, Texas) — A tornado that tore through an R.G. Barry Corporation shoe distribution center in San Angelo, Texas, brought the biggest Shoes for Orphan Souls donation ever to arrive at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid in Dallas.

The shoes came to Buckner International’s Shoes for Orphan Souls when Alan Wilson, with Templeton Construction, decided to find a non-profit who could take the shoes instead of tossing them in the dump.

The non-profit would have to make the commitment to send the shoes out-of country, to keep insurance regulations. Wilson found SOS through Carmen Nila, a member of PaulAnn Baptist Church in San Angelo.

PaulAnn had hosted a shoe drive in 2007.

“If Alan Wilson hadn’t made contact with Carmen Nila, and if PaulAnn Baptist Church hadn’t done a shoe drive the year before, and if the tornado never even hit… well, then we wouldn’t be here today,” said Rachel Garton, director of Shoes for Orphan Souls. “There are a lot of heroes in this story. A lot of people came together to make this donation happen. And a lot of kids will benefit because of it.”

Greg Tunney, president and chief executive officer at R.G. Barry Corporation, said they regularly work with footwear-based charities including Soles for Souls and the Two Ten Foundation.

“But the aftermath of the San Angelo tornado was an unusual situation,” Tunney said. “Our insurance called for all products damaged in the tornado to be destroyed to prevent possible resale.

“Fortunately, they agreed to let us to donate these shoes and slippers to the Shoes for Orphan Souls organization rather than sending them to the landfill. We could not be happier.”

Shoes for Orphan Souls reaches children who might otherwise go barefoot in cold weather or on rough land. It takes shoes to children who can’t afford a new pair and it takes them to orphans who often don’t own anything besides what they wear on their feet.

About 30-40 volunteers from PaulAnn sorted and boxed shoes May 1 in the shade-free lot behind the R.G. Barry warehouse. Wal-Mart donated the use of their 18-wheelers to transport the shoes to the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid in Dallas. Although not all the shoes have been transported yet, 15 trucks of 53 feet in length are expected to be used.

Now, as they arrive truck by truck to the humanitarian aid center, volunteers in the area are donating time and muscle to sort and unload the shoes.

“It has been remarkable to have all of those shoes come to Buckner,” said Ken Hall, president of Buckner International. “The people of San Angelo really came together on behalf of the children who will receive these shoes. Now we’re relying on people in the Dallas area. Buckner is so grateful to R.G. Barry for allowing us to distribute the shoes. And we could have never done this without the work of the members of PaulAnn Baptist Church and Wal-Mart.”

Hall said the blessing of receiving so many shoes also comes with the responsibility to distribute them.

“We’re definitely going to need financial support for additional storage and shipping expenses,” Hall said.

The R.G. Barry donation was the largest single domestic donation made to Shoes for Orphan Souls. But Garton said there is still a great need for people to host shoe drives and donate shoes.

“The shoes we received from R.G. Barry Corporation are mostly slippers and house shoes,” she said. “They will be a huge blessing to children in different parts of the world, especially in the colder countries. But there is still a need for sneakers and shoes that protect the children’s feet.”

For more information about Shoes for Orphan Souls, visit the Web site at www.ShoesforOrphanSouls.org or call 1-866-774-SHOE.

Buckner still needs volunteers to travel on upcoming Shoes for Orphan Souls trips or they may be cancelled, said George McCain, director of Buckner Missions.

“Hundreds of children may suffer because of it,” he said. Dozens of volunteers are still needed in order to make the trips to China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Honduras, Mexico, Romania, Latvia and Peru.

“We currently have about half the people we need signed up,” said Jessica Garcia, mission trip coordinator.

If the shoe trips are cancelled, Garcia explained, the children may still receive the shoes but there will be no one there to deliver them and build relationships.

McCain acknowledged that the declining economy has everyone on a tight budget.

“But our mission trip coordinators can help people with ideas for fundraising,” he said. “There are tons of stories about people who took a leap of faith and signed up for a trip, knowing they didn’t have the funds in the beginning. But they sent letters to family and friends and were able to come up with the resources.

“We truly believe that if you feel called to missions, if you feel called to go on a trip, God will make a way.”

Denise Griffin traveled on a Shoes for Orphan Souls mission trip in 2005 and recalled a little girl following her as she left an orphanage in Russia. “Will you come back? Please come back,” the girl said.

While it may be hard for volunteers to leave knowing that they may not be back, Griffin said she was comforted by the fact that someone from Buckner will always go back.

“When Buckner goes somewhere, they make a promise and keep relationships with them,” she said.

Garcia said they are looking for anyone “12 years old and older desiring to love on orphans and impact the lives of kids.”

The shoe trip dates begin in late September with Guatemala and continue to the end of the year with several trips scheduled during the Christmas season. The deadline to sign up for each trip varies, but it is usually about a month and a half before the trip.

For information about taking a Shoes for Orphan Souls mission trip, visit www.ItsYourMission.com or contact Pat Wilson at (214) 388-1442.

Click here to download the mission trip calendar.
Click here to sign up today!

(DALLAS, Texas) — Christian music performing artist Michael W. Smith visited the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid on Wednesday, Dec. 3 to take a tour of the Shoes for Orphans Souls warehouse and to surprise volunteers with an unplugged performance. The visit was hosted by GodTube and Buckner International.

“This is a great place,” he told volunteers after his tour. “This kind of stuff changes the world. It’s always been my hope, my dream and my prayer that if the church at large would do what you’re doing, then the world would change.”

Smith played three songs, including hit song “Friends are Friends Forever” and a special piano piece he had written for his granddaughter.

Smith has won three Grammys and dozens of Dove awards for his work in Christian music. Smith was in Dallas forhis Christmas tour where he performed at the Meyerson Symphony Center Dec. 2 and 3.

Click here to view video from Dallas Morning News.

(ST. PETERSBURG, Russia) — Rachel Garton has heard every pun imaginable during her 18 months as director of Buckner International’s Shoes for Orphan Souls ministry.

They range from, “putting the best foot forward,” to “if the shoe fits, wear it.” She’s even been called the “Queen of Sole.”

There’s no question in the minds of Buckner officials throughout the agency that Shoes for Orphan Souls has allowed the ministry to get its foot into many doors in the United States and internationally in the 10 years since Buckner took over the program from Dallas-based radio station KCBI.

“Shoes for Orphans Souls as a ministry in and of itself has provided shoes for literally millions of children around the world,” said Ken Hall, president of Buckner. “But at the same time, it has opened numerous doors for Buckner around the world. It has given all of what Buckner does credibility to those who don’t know us.”

In January, Buckner begins a year-long celebration of 10 years since it took over the program. In 1999, KCBI was ending five years of hosting what it called “Shoes for Russian Souls,” a campaign the radio station used to collect shoes for Russian orphans. It was the brainchild of then-station manager Ron Harris.

But after five years, Harris approached Buckner officials about taking over the program. Hall said the immediate answer was “Yes!”

“We had so much respect for Ron and what KCBI had done to that point,” Hall said. “At the same time, we were deeply involved in Russia and opening work in other countries. We knew this could be a vehicle for Buckner in so many ways.”

Still, even Hall and others at Buckner admit that while they knew the shoe program had great potential, the past 10 years have been beyond what they expected.

“We have Shoe for Orphan Souls drives in almost every state. We have distributed nearly 2 million pairs of shoes in 55 countries. And so many different segments of society, from churches to civic clubs, schools, Christian radio stations, just about everyone you can imagine does a shoe drive now,” Hall said.

Through September, Garton said the 2008 shoe drive year-to-date is running far ahead of last year. Already, more than 830 shoes drives have been held nationwide and close to 250,000 pairs of shoes have been collected through the first nine months of the year, she said.

“We sometimes wonder if people will move on to something else after awhile,” Garton said. “But our folks are faithful and they just keep collecting shoes and financial contributions to support us.”

Two years ago, the Shoes for Orphan Souls program took a big step forward when the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid opened in east Dallas. The 45,000-square foot building serves as the receiving and shipping center for the ministry.

Each year, more than 5,000 volunteers log in excess of 20,000 hours sorting shoes and preparing them for shipment around the world. The warehouse has become a popular spot for church youth groups and mission teams from around the country. Already this year, more than 240,000 pairs of shoes have passed through the center.

That number doesn’t include shoes purchased by Buckner in many countries where shoes are distributed. In those cases, Buckner buys shoes locally with money donated to Buckner rather than shipping them because it’s more cost-effective.

“The financial contributions we receive to support Shoes for Orphan Souls are used to ship shoes around the world, but also to purchase shoes in a lot of places where it’s more convenient and better stewardship to buy locally,” said Garton.

In Russia, where it all started for Buckner 10 years ago, shoes, especially warm boots, are bought locally. In October, a team of volunteers from the United States spent eight days visiting 11 orphanages delivering shoes to children.

For Ludmila Baranova, retired director of Orphanage No. 2 in St. Petersburg, one of the first recipients of shoes in 1999, the shoes have had a “direct impact, first and foremost on the physical condition of the children.”

But she added that having teams of Americans come to the orphanage to give the shoes to the children has also had an “emotional impact on the condition of the children. They have fond memories of the time they spent with the groups,” Baranova said. “Their happy memories are all about hope. This hope helps them in the future. It’s hard to overstate what Buckner has done.”

And while shoes are shipped around the world to 55 countries, some of the most profound impact of the ministry is right back in Texas, where the most recent Shoes for Orphan Souls mission trip took 24 volunteers to the El Paso/Juarez, Mexico area.

According to Jorge Zapata, ministry director for Buckner Border Ministries, the mission team from all over the United States ministered to 950 people on both sides of the border. He said the team saw 63 people accept Christ through the shoe distribution efforts.

Zapata said the mission trip generated local television coverage on Univision. “They opened the story by saying that because of all the violence going on in Juarez, many religious groups have cancelled their trips, but Buckner International came anyway to make a difference in Juarez,” Zapata said.

Cindy Terry, one of seven women from First Baptist Church, Longview, who was on the trip, said the experience provided a special blessing for her.

“I am so grateful for this mission experience and I feel so personally blessed,” she said. “Each time I get a close-up glance of God at work, I am moved beyond words.”

Buckner officials said a variety of activities and events are being planned to celebrate the 10th anniversary in 2009. For more information, visit www.ShoesforOrphanSouls.org.

(DALLAS, Texas) — The number of homeless is growing as the economy falls, so the president of Operation Care was glad to bring Shoes for Orphan Souls to be part of the biggest party for the homeless in the nation Dec. 14.

“We only had 300 shoes and it wasn’t enough for the event,” said Susie Jennings, president and founder of Dallas-based Operation Care. “I called Andrew and said, ‘I need shoes!’ and we were able to get 5,000 to distribute to needy children and adults.”

Operation Care offered the people manicures, hair cuts, coats, a hot meal, toiletries, Bibles and many other services and opportunities. They also shared the Gospel.

“We were happy to serve the homeless in our community,” said Rachel Garton, director of Shoes for Orphan Souls. “Shoes are a big necessity, especially in the winter time, and even more so for people without a home.”

Operation Care gathered hundreds of volunteers who distributed hygiene items and toys and offered family reconciliation services.

“There was one homeless guy who was lame and walking barefoot,” Jennings said. “I said, ‘Where are your shoes?’ Then I told him who I was — the president of the organization. So this guy who could barely walk, attempted to kneel down and kiss my feet. I said, ‘No, get up, I am not Jesus. I am not worthy of that. Get up!’ He was just so happy. It was incredible.”

Matt Asato, humanitarian aid coordinator for Shoes for Orphan Souls, and his wife Rachel volunteered at the event to help distribute shoes and wash people’s feet.

“Rachel and I were blessed to serve during the afternoon shift,” Asato said. “It’s definitely an awesome ministry that serves the least of these in our own backyard.”

For more information about Operation Care, visit www.operationcaredallas.org.

To donate a pair of Shoes for Orphan Souls, click here.