Local FFA Chapter does their part for Soles4Souls Campaign

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Horticulture Club and Collegiate Farm Bureau co-sponsored an initiative to collect new and gently used shoes recently as part of the Soles4Souls shoe campaign, and Dexter's FFA Chapter was one of the participating organizations.

Twenty collection barrels were placed around campus for students to donate shoes for people living in extreme poverty and recovering from natural disasters. St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 804 N. Cape Rock Drive, and Marcy's Planet Shoes, 3050 William Street, both in Cape Girardeau and cosponsors of the effort, collected shoes for Soles4Souls throughout the week at their locations.

A table was set up in Southeast's University Center March 28-March 31 to raise awareness of Soles4Souls. Many student volunteers participated in the effort as well.

The City of Cape Girardeau had proclaimed March 25-April 1 as Soles4Souls Week in Cape Girardeau, acknowledging Southeast Missouri State University's Horticulture Club and Collegiate Farm Bureau along with St. Andrew Lutheran Church and Marcy's Planet Shoes as the official sponsors for Soles4Souls Week.

Capping the week-long collection during Soles4Souls Week, was the National Soles4Souls University RV Tour which made its way to Southeast Missouri State University March 28 to help support the cause. The RV will also visited St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Marcy's and Alma Schrader Elemen-tary School during its stop in Cape Girardeau.

Soles4Souls Inc. is a Nashville, Tenn.-based shoe charity that provides shoes to those in need. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 17 million pairs of shoes and gives one pair of shoes to a person in need every seven seconds.

After the tragedies of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Asian Tsunami, Soles4Souls gave more than one million shoes to the victims of these natural disasters. The shoe charity recognizes its success as a result of individuals and industry partners who clean out closets and warehouses so individuals around the world can have a better life through Americans' excess. Soles4Souls has two divisions, Clothes4Souls and Hope4Souls, that provide other necessities such as clothes to those in need.

For more information about Southeast's collection efforts, please contact Cheryl Reinagel at creinagel@semo.edu or Rhonda Weller-Stilson at rstilson@semo.edu. For more information about Soles4Souls, please visit www.giveshoes.org.