[caption id="attachment_17206" align="aligncenter" width="683"]
The shoe collection bin is located in the Recreation Center. Greg Medina/Asst. Photography Editor.[/caption]
The men’s cross country team is asking the Seton Hall University community to help stimulate the economy, help the environment and provide income for residents of Ghana in need, simply by donating of shoes.
The team has paired with the MORE Foundation in these efforts, as the donation of shoes will be sold for a low price in countries of poverty to help the financial fluency of the region. From there, the profits will pay for agricultural resources in Africa. This includes supplying the seeds to plant trees, the construction of a well which can supply water throughout the environment, help fund education and more.
The MORE Foundation has representatives that travel to these locations for a year and assist in making sure the families are living in a sustainable environment. They also work to stop human trafficking across the planet along with more efforts to make the world a better place.
Each year, the Seton Hall cross country team joins in working towards a charitable event. In the past this has involved volunteering at charitable running events, however junior team captain and Student Athlete Advisory Committee President Jeffrey Larson wanted to find something different that could get the entire community involved.
Larson did his research and found the MORE Foundation. After speaking to the organization’s president, they decided on a two-week trial to start the efforts. Shortly after, SHU Athletic Director Patrick Lyons urged the team to continue its efforts and to stretch out the fundraiser for the rest of the semester.
So far, it’s been a success, but Larson hopes for the cause to only grow further.
“(The Cross Country team) has definitely taken some pride in this. We’ve had some people donate 20 shoes,” he said. “We’re going to continue this throughout the rest of the semester and hopefully we can get a huge involvement from everyone that walks in the doors at the rec center.”
Mass emails have been sent out along with flyers that have been put up around campus. The team is currently looking to grow their advertising and make it easier for everyone to donate. For anyone interested in donating, collection boxes can be found in the Recreation Center lobby on campus.
“It helps not only our team, but other people realize what they can be doing or that they can help in small ways to help families and communities to get out of poverty. Donating shoes is an easy way to reach that goal,” Larson said.
Keith Egan can be reached at keith.egan@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Keith_egan10.
Comments
