A group of local women is working to make sure that every student who needs them has new shoes on their feet before the school year begins.
Community outreach ministry 2nd Chance by Mercy is hosting a tennis shoe drive through July 21. Residents may donate new pairs of tennis shoes in all sizes – youth through adult – which volunteers will distribute to Marshall County Family Resource Centers and kids in need to prepare for the school year.
It’s a need that 2nd Chance founder Rachel Lane said she felt was more prevalent than some might realize.
“I know there’s quite a few people, I know the school resource (centers), and all that try to make sure there’s kids that have shoes, but we also know there’s some that are left kind of behind a little bit, that maybe their parents can’t get somewhere to sign them up or something,” Lane said. “… We’re not taking sandals, flip-flops or any of that because that’s mainly what they have, and then they end up wearing those into the winter months sometimes, you know, if they don’t have (any). So we’re asking for new tennis shoes and it’s any sizes, from little all the way up to high school. Sometimes the high school kids are left out. So, we’re just asking for those. Anything new. We want the kids to have new shoes for school.”
The effort is just one of many the group of volunteer women have taken on since the outreach began in October. Volunteers have been responsible for constructing and placing mini food pantries – boxes that community members stock with non-perishable food items that needy residents may take as needed – throughout various locations in the county. The ministry has started a clothing closet which opens each Thursday and is stocked with garments for children through adults; once a month through the closet, the organization gives away hygiene products, baby products and other items considered necessities that often prove too expensive for those struggling financially to provide themselves or their families.
“I see a lot, because there are some people that aren’t in the system, that do try to work and don’t want to ask for help,” she said. “We’ve come across quite a few that they feel embarassed or ashamed to ask for help. There’s quite a few people like that. It’s kind of a pride issue for them. But once they come to us and see that ‘hey, we’re not here to judge you, we just want to help you.’ … If you look at toiletries, those are expensive items. Even feminine hygiene products and things like that, those are all very expensive items, and if they don’t have it – and there’s a lot that don’t.”
Lane said she’d been thinking about how she could help fill the need in the community for about a year but a clear idea had not formed until she was watching the news one evening and heard about a nearby coat drive. Suddenly, it clicked.
“I thought, ‘we need to do this. We need to do a coat drive,’” Lane said. “… That was our very first event, was a coat drive, and it wasn’t for just kids. Because I’ve known many adults that didn’t have coats. So, we collected many coats. A bunch of women got together, and we formed the ministry; we got the coats. We went out to Walnut Court, we set up there a few times, and people came and got coats and hygiene products, and that’s where it all just kind of started right there.”
Since then volunteers have worked to try to coordinate multiple efforts and been met with success. Fellow 2nd Chance member Karen Freeman said the group consisted of about 10 regularly active volunteers – women from different backgrounds and church affiliations but with a common goal to provide for the community – but had support from numerous groups and churches.
It’s a worthwhile endeavor to volunteers. Freeman said it was her faith that compelled her to be a part of the organization, and she hoped to reach people and pass on what she said God asked of her: to love her fellow man.
“Everything we do is just to share Jesus,” Freeman said. “… I know that people struggle because they have been hurt by churches, and that people won’t go to church because somebody’s done this or some’ done that. So, when I became aware of 2nd Chance by Mercy, for me it was a way to try to reach the unchurched, who typically wouldn’t set foot in a church, but a way for those people to know that there are people who care about them and want to help them. … The church is full of imperfect people. Just because one person hurt them doesn’t mean they have to give up on church or give up on God.”
Freeman said the group works with Family Resource Centers to provide for children in the schools regularly. In particular, she said the centers will often provide a listing of most needed items and sizes for clothing and shoes for students who need them. The shoe drive, members hope, will yield plenty of return.
As of Wednesday, Freeman said she did not have a solid count on the number of pairs donated; however, volunteers had been receiving items.
Donors may leave shoes in the collection box located at the Marshall County Judge-Executive’s office on the court square at 1101 Main St. in Benton or at the 2nd Chance by Mercy clothing closet at 1202 Main St. in Benton, behind the Awesome Good Coffee shop.
Freeman said monetary donations were also welcomed and may be given to any 2nd Chance volunteer; monies collected will be used to purchase new tennis shoes to contribute to family resource centers for local students.
For more information about 2nd Chance by Mercy or to donate or volunteer, visit the Facebook page or call 270-205-2916 or 270-703-0373.
The clothing closet is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday, and once monthly on Saturday.
“I want people to know that we are here to help anyone,” Lane said. “We’re not here to judge; we’re not here to ask questions. We are here to help anyone that is in need. The women that are in this ministry now, their heart is just so big for it. We’re doing our best to reach out to people, and we just want people to start coming to us – we’re here. We’ll do anything that we can. If we don’t have the resources for it, we’ll find it.”