“One afternoon we had the opportunity to distribute over 40 pairs of shoes donated by our sponsor, KEEN Footwear. It was one of the most fulfilling and touching moments along our journey. We hiked the 45 minutes to Los Valles’ elementary school with a group also working at TLC from Seattle, Washington. They were helping construct a new student dorm on campus, and were an awesome, friendly bunch.
Once reaching the school, the children lined up and had the opportunity to pick out the pair of shoes that fit their fancy. There were hikers, sandals, tennis shoes, walking shoes, stylish suede shoes…you name it, KEEN Footwear gave it! Kids were walking up with holes in the tips of their shoes, toes dragging along the ground.
Some had shoes way to small, and stories of devastating family losses and no income to purchase new shoes in a place where everyone walked many kilometers in order to get anywhere. To see the smiles that those kids gave us once they had a fresh, new pair of KEEN’s in their hands…man I don’t even know how to describe it. What a feeling.
Simply, pure joy to help out a child with something that would be so useful to them. Thanks, KEEN, for providing the goods! It’s a moment, such as many along our volunteering efforts, that will never be forgotten.
We finished out the afternoon looking on as the children ran around in their new shoes, playing futbol, and being taught new games by the Seattle volunteers. Literally, everyone seemed to be sporting a smile from ear to ear and laughing as the sun began to set and that soft, pastel glow of an approaching evening began to engulf our surroundings. All seemed right in the world.” – Ethan Lee, Between The Peaks
For more on The Leadership Center: http://leadershipmissioninternational.org/tlc/
For more from KEEN Footwear: http://keenfootwear.com
For the full Between The Peaks movie: http://betweenthepeaks.com