April Allen | Arts & Life Co-Editor
On April 16, everyone on the Buena Vista University (BVU) campus can go without shoes. A Day Without Shoes is an event designed to create awareness of people who don’t own even a single pair of shoes while many of us are able to claim that we have at least a basket or closet full of them.
Senior John Killpack, who has been in charge of the day, says there are three goals to this event.
“Day Without Shoes is in its second year here on campus, and we hope to raise awareness of poverty and health concerns associated with lack of a pair of shoes, raise money for a local and world cause, and connect BVU campus to the community,” Killpack said.
A Day Without Shoes is part of TOMS College Campus Program, and that’s how Director of Civic Engagement Ashley Farmer-Hanson said she knew that it was a legitimate cause that BVU’s Storm Lake campus could take on. TOMS is a for-profit company with a non-profit mission.
During the day, awareness will be the main focus, but there has been a lot of work leading up to the day to raise money to also make the event a fundraiser. So far, 138 shirts have been sold with the money being donated to Upper Des Moines, a Community Action Agency, and to LOVE Takes Root, which is an orphanage in Haiti. Each of these organizations will be getting more than $300 to go towards their needs.
“People will be wearing their t-shirts and going barefoot to create awareness, causing people to reflect and think about the issue. They will wonder why people aren’t wearing shoes and get a glimpse of what it feels like to not have shoes. There are poverty and health concerns in our own community, and we need to serve this issue,” Farmer-Hanson said.
Throughout the day, multiple events will be taking place to get people involved. From 11-1 p.m., tattoos will be given out, and people will have the option to paint their feet. Then at 4 p.m., there will be an awareness walk around campus that anybody can go to. The Style Your Soles event will take place from 7-11 p.m. for those who bought plain TOMS to decorate. There were 48 pairs of TOMS that were sold, meaning there was also that many donated to children around the world who are in need of a pair of shoes. Lastly, but most importantly, anybody and everybody on campus can go without shoes in order to raise awareness and hopefully inspire others to take on this cause that affects not only Storm Lake community but people all around the globe.
“Through BVU’s opportunities to travel, I have been able to travel to third world countries where I had first-hand experience with poverty issues and health concerns. This made me passionate in serving different countries and in my own backyard,” Killpack said.
Connected with this day is LOVE Takes Root, an organization driven to help children around the world who are facing dire circumstances by delivering basic aid, education, and the seeds for a sustainable future. With the donation to this organization and the Alternative Week of Offsite Learning (AWOL) experience at the orphanage, the need for shoes has been seen by many involved.
“It really hit hard for me when I was in Haiti with AWOL this past spring break. There was open sewage on the streets, and many of the kids didn’t have shoes, and the sanitation conditions were very poor. Here we have grass and sidewalks so we don’t have to worry about these sorts of things,” Ashley Farmer-Hanson said.
Killpack said there were a few community members whose efforts helped make A Day Without Shoes possible.
“This is their second year of involvement, and they really wanted to participate all along. They took lead in what they did, and that’s inspiring,” Killpack said.
Graphic courtesy of Cassie Forsyth
Photos courtesy of Ashley-Farmer Hanson
