Shoes for a Good Cause

Take a stroll next to the Sea Lab dorms some afternoon, and more than likely you'll happen upon a mountain of dirty shoes drying in the Alabama sun. Thousands of students every year participate in the Discovery Hall Program's field activities, including seining in the muddy, murky salt marshes of the island. While the students always return home, the shoes don't always share the same fate, depending on their condition.

What happens to this abandoned footwear? An enterprising Discovery Hall summer counselor, Kim Toney, with the help of the Sea Lab's custodial staff, has put them to good use. A few times a year, Kim travels from her home in Auburn, Alabama to collect these forlorn shoes, wash them, dry them, and sends them and other collected necessities to Orphanage Emmanuel in Guaimaca, Honduras.

Over 400 children and 12 full-time staff members at the orphanage benefit from the dedication of Kim and her colleagues, who ship the shoes, food, bedding, school desks, refrigerators, furniture, diapers, baby wipes, Band-Aids, clothing and other supplies from Opelika, Alabama.

The Sea Lab is privileged to participate in this worthwhile endeavor. For more information about Orphanage Emmanuel, visit www.orphanageemmanuel.com.