The Trip of a Lifetime - Amy’s Soles 4 Souls Shoe Donation Trip to Haiti

This entry was posted on April 27, 2012 by admin.

Abbadabba’s Team Member Amy Fletcher just returned from a life-changing Soles for Souls trip to Haiti where she helped to distribute 500 new pairs of shoes to local children.

Amy, who many of you know from our Little 5 Points and Buckhead stores, has a passion for community service.  She has volunteered with Team in Training, the Arthritis Foundation and helped raise money for cancer research.
Amy learned about the work of Soles 4 Souls when she started working at Abbadabba’s in 2011 and knew she wanted to participate in a future shoe donation.   Soles 4 Souls has a shoe donation center in Haiti, a country that is in dire need of proper footwear to prevent disease and promote the health and well-being of youth.  Amy personally raised over $2,000 for the organization plus her travel costs in order to participate in this experience (including a $500 contribution from Abbadabba’s).

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​Amy’s group flew to Haiti on April 9th.  Her adventure began in Port-a-prince where Amy visited local orphanages hugging babies who needed affection), toured a ministry in Montrouis and stay in Farmath, where Soles 4 Souls has a community center to offer recreational and educational opportunities for local youth.  When Amy and her fellow volunteers would visit a school, the students would be assembled eagerly waiting their arrival. Working together as a team, volunteers would measure each child’s feet, wash their feet in cold water from a bucket and dry them off and then help the child try on the shoes for size. Language was a barrier, so Amy had to gauge their reactions by a thumbs up or down, or a smile.  500 new pairs of shoes donated by retailers and manufacturers were distributed.

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“One of the defining moments of the trip was the first time I touched a child’s feet and saw how hardened and calloused they were from walking barefoot.  I volunteered to be here so kids don’t have to walk barefoot on rocks and rubble anymore. Schools require that children wear shoes, so their new footwear will help more kids receive an education.”

“During my trip, it felt like I was viewing a National Geographic special, seeing chaos and hard living conditions upfront that were previously images on a television screen. It was an amazing, humbling, life changing experience.”
Amy, touched deeply by this life changing experience, plans to go back. She would like to raise funds to participate in the August Soles 4 Souls shoe donation in Haiti. While she speaks humbly about it, community service has always been a priority for Amy.   We are so proud of Amy and glad to have her part of our team!
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Note:  Gently used shoes collected in the U.S. and other parts of the world in shoe drives such as those at Abbadabba’s are used for microenterprise, where people in need sell shoes on the street to gain financial independence for themselves and others in the community.   We hope you will help us support Soles 4 Souls and those in need by continuing to bring your gently used shoes to our donation boxes located in all Abbadabba’s locations and by participating in Marietta’s Largest Shoe Drive!


This entry was posted in Giving Back on April 27, 2012 by admin.

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