First Years Find Their Feet at Sal’s Shoes

This week all of the First Year pupils visited Sal’s Shoes headquarters as part of their EDGE lessons answering the question, what is it like to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Daisy H in 1W explained that they learnt about how the charity started, CJ Bowry “started to tell us about her son and how he kept growing out of his new shoes that he had only worn a handful of times. She sent her son’s old shoes to someone she knew in Zambia for some children who were in need of a pair. People started asking her to send more of their children’s shoes and the idea of Sal’s Shoes was born. This meant that shoes that people didn’t need any more would be collected and given to children and adults who couldn’t afford a pair.”

Each class then volunteered their time, by sorting shoes, Clemie’s clothes donations from the recent Prep PA Fancy Dress Swap Shop, out of date Caterham PE kit and CCF cadet jumpers for some boys who look after military horses and sleep with them through the night, shoes for asylum seeker families in the UK, winter socks for baby banks, making boxes and packing and wrapping Christmas presents for children in Ghana in time for Christmas. We are still calculating all of the pupil’s contributions, but we know that one class alone sorted 724 pairs of shoes and that whilst our visits were taking place, 7000 pairs of shoes were being distributed in Syria.

Elliot W in 1B said, “my visit to Sal’s shoes made me realise just how fortunate we are but also how close we are to people who have to endure the struggle of poverty even here in Caterham, who don’t have the costs to pay for a pair of school shoes. The things we were told were devastating, like the fact that in some government schools around the world they wouldn’t let you go to school if you didn’t have school uniform and school shoes, so even free education isn’t free to many families, which is what made me realise just how important and amazing the work all the volunteers do. But what filled me with joy was all the pictures on the walls from people all over the world with a new pair of shoes that had been recycled from people who no longer needed them. You would never really expect someone to be jumping for joy about a pair of shoes, but for millions of people around the world it is life changing and it makes you appreciate how lucky all the people with a fresh pair of shoes to wear are.”

Rio P in 1O explained the impact the visit had on him and said, “when I next grow out of some shoes, I am definitely going to send them to Sal’s Shoes because I now know that my shoes will help a wonderful child who isn’t as fortunate as me. I am more motivated than ever to contribute towards causes like this. I have realised how important charities like Sal’s Shoes are to help reduce waste, recycle more and tackle inequality, ‘doing good, feels good’.”

A huge thank you to CJ Bowry and her team of volunteers who have hosted, educated and inspired our First Year pupils!

If you have outgrown but not outworn shoes that you would like to donate to Sal’s Shoes, keep them handy for the next Sal’s Shoes collection at school at the start of the Spring Term courtesy of the Parents’ Association.

Click here for more information on this amazing charity.