Hammond High School Rocks!!!

Picked up over 3,000 pairs of shoes from Hammond High School this morning. Took about 20 of us a while to match all the shoes up.... but WE DID IT!!!!! And we yelled "PAIR" every time we got a pair together! Friday, at the end of Homecoming week/Spirit week, I think we all had much fun. The kids were totally into it as well and I could not have done it without their help.

Hammond High.... you're awesome! A special shout out to Mr. Livieratos aka Mr. L. who has reached out and stepped beyond his classroom to real life situations. I could not have done it without his help and expertise.

Thank You!

Hope to see some of you this weekend at the warehouse!
Hugs
Rachel

WOW & Warehouse Times This Weekend

Ok... first...

Warehouse times this weekend

Friday evening 7pm unitl ???
Saturday 10/22 2pm until ???
Sunday 2pm until???

This is the last weekend I will be able to offer community service hours to students in Howard County.

The tractor-trailer is scheduled to come and I will be getting everything I have boxed and pallet ready for the truck. To date I have 15, 045 Shoes as well as 3 more rooms of shoes in piles that are literally up to my shoulders. I am thrilled at my community for really stepping up to the plate here.

Times are busy and I'm attempting to remain calm and carry on. It is a tad bit ku ku in my world right now and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Thanks EVERYONE for making this happen.
Hugs
Rachel

Warehouse Times for 10/22 & 10/23

Hi All,

I'll be at the warehouse this weekend. If you would like to come help rubberband and tie together shoes, bring your water bottle and come on over.

Saturday 2pm to 5pm
Sunday 2pm to 4pm

Hope to see you there.
Warmly,
Rachel

Warehouse Dates & Times 10/16/11

Hi All,

I will be at the warehouse this weekend on SUNDAY ONLY from 2 to 5pm

We have a zillion shoes to get ready for shipment. Lotta hands, little work.

Show up with a water bottle and come prepared to help sort, bundle and pack.

Zul my helper at the warehouse has been ill all week and unable to be at the warehouse. If you need to do a drop off or meet with me, you can reach me at the number below the warehouse address to the right of this blog and I will try my best to work out a time that works for both parties.

I am busy running around collecting shoes as quickly as possible. If I haven't gotten to you yet, just know If you have called and left a message for pick up that I am coming. I know the boxes are filling up quickly as the closure of this collection is quickly approaching.

Thanks again to eveyone for making me proud of our community. Having a pair of shoes really means a lot to so many others. It reaffirms my belief in one of Wayne Elsey's quotes... "To have enough to give someone else is what it truly means to be rich."

Have a great weekend all

Hugs

Rachel

Come Hear What Wayne Elsey Has To Say

What: An evening with the founder and CEO of Soles4Souls
When: Thursday October 20th, 7:00pm

Where: Monteabaro Recital Hall, Howard County Community College

RSVP: Please call (443)518-1420 or e-mail studentlife@howardcc.edu for questions.

Space is limited. You can e-mail me at requade@hotmail.com to reserve a spot if you like.

Warehouse Times 10/8 and 10/9 AND... TODD

Warehouse times this weekend:

10/7/11 - Friday 6-8pm

10/8/11 - Saturday 2-5pm

10/9/11 - Sunday 2-5pm

Bring your water bottle over and come on out. We have piles of shoes to pack and get on the pallet!

I wanted to post some pictures of Todd from my trip to Africa.

Todd is an attorney for Soles4Souls (S4S) and was really very helpful to me on this trip in many ways. He has children of his own and is very smart. He reminded me of my own brother who is also an attorney.

Todd took the time with me on our evening in Dar Es Salam to explain the micro-business process to me and explained why exactly old shoes work. If he does go on another trip I'd like to tag along with him and talk with some of the people that S4S partner's with. It is a really great concept that I fully believe in. Most importantly, I am glad that he took the time to talk with me. He also was guidance in the fire that if the need to evacuate rose where to go. Todd is a smart person with a very big heart. I love that he wanted to play bubbles with the kids at one of the orphanages we visited.

So thanks again Todd for the conversations and compassion. I sincerely and graciously appreciate all that you do.

Hope to see some faces new and old at the warehouse this weekend.

Hugs

Rachel

Moving Right Along

Please take a minute to check it out. I love this song and it's keeping me going today.

http://youtu.be/MMR5JVo21wQ

It's been a crazy week. While trying to hide the bread and microwave plate cover from the 120lb lab taking them to nibble on.... I hid them in the stove. Forgot that I put those things in the stove and went to bake some cookies. Upon turning the oven on to preheat the microwave plate cover caught on fire. 5 fire trucks later I felt like a real fool. No nobody was hurt, yes the oven still works and I ordered new racks for it today.

I then left my keys on the back of my husbands car and he drove off with them to get pizza on Friday night. Found those a mile down the road smashed to pieces.

Lastly, someone tried to break into the warehouse and vandalize it. They were NOT successfull and well that's 3 bad things in a row... now it's over.

Needless to say things have been busy. I still LOVE doing the shoe drive. I have met so many wonderful people that want to do something good. This far outweighs those hurdles I've passed in the last week.

I'm busy running around trying to keep up with all the shoes coming in and still delivering boxes to schools that want to participate in the drive. I am forever appreciative to everyone for making the process happen. It's an amazing journey and I still LOVE being a part of it.

Hugs
Rachel