'Giving Tuesday' includes big shoe collection effort

QUEEN VILLAGE (WPVI) -- "Giving Tuesday" found the Philadelphia School District joining the effort in a big way.

The William M. Meredith School in Queen Village has teamed up with a non-profit group to help impoverished people in other countries start, maintain and grow businesses.

The school is running a shoe collection with Funds2Orgs.

The organization buys the shoes and ships them to developing countries around the world.

The shoes then can be sold or re-purposed, providing opportunities for impoverished families to grow businesses in their communities.

The money the school makes will go toward programming and equipment.

Any shoes are accepted as long as they're gently worn, any anyone is welcome to drop off donations.

"We really want to have the children understand there's a bigger world around them and that they can have such an impact on the world," said Meredith Home and School Association Co-president Christina Pascucci.

There have been posters, emails, announcements, and phone calls, all in an effort to drum up support.

And there was a special push for Giving Tuesday.

"We come off the holiday season, and we have so much abundance in our lives, many of us," said Meredith School Principal Lauren Overton. "And taking a moment to pause, and seeing you have an opportunity to provide in your community, is a nice thing."

Each student's goal is 25 pairs. They have already collected more than 2,000.

And it's no easy feat to get all of these shoes.

They're hoping more people in their communities get involved. Some plan to ask their neighbors.

The collection continues until MLK Day in January when they will open up the school for a day of service and count and organize all the shoes.