Hi friends and followers, I'm on the train from Baltimore to Penn Station New York. Tomorrow I will meet up with the rest of the group and head to Istanbul, Turkey on the way to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. This is simply a trial run to see if it works. I know it's been forever since. I last blogged. Hugs, Rachel

Pondering Ideas & Working Out

Hi All,

Since I took a 6 week break from lifting shoes, my body has gone into withdraw from lifting boxes. I've since taken on a rather aggressive approach at the local gym. Today I found me telling myself that I was becoming not real fond of the weight room. I'm not sure how long this will last, but I will say I LOVE the cardio workout, running, and just tuning out with some good music. The weights on the other hand are work. I have very little upper body strength and since working out on the weights my arms do feel better so I'll keep at it. I never realized just how much work I was doing lifting 50 lb. boxes of shoes while doing the shoe drive.

Which leads me to yet another question....

If I did another shoe drive, would you be willing to help?

Ironically, my garage has shoes in it and I found myself collecting boxes while in BJ's Warehouse the other day. A little scary since I haven't officially declared that I'm going to do this again in September, but I got to put it out there.

Homework is done for the kids, but dinner is not. Off to be a Mom.

Hugs
Rachel

Random Thoughts

Today I woke and found this quote that said the difference between being interested and being committed are that when you are interested it requires little action on your part and you are not concerned about the outcome of said event. Being committed means that there are no excuses and action is required on your part. Interesting way to begin the day. So my answer to that question is with a question? Are you interested in hosting another shoe drive with me or are you committed?

Secondly, I have found my thoughts continually going towards Haiti. Wondering what I can do there? Maybe it's here that I need to do work for Haiti. Today marks the two year mark since the devastation that occurred there. While we we never forget Sept. 11th in our country I hope we never forget about our neighbors right down the road from us that are hungry or cold.

I know I can't solve the world's problems and my kids can all tell you when we go through our list of wants mine is always world peace. I believe in humility and ya gotta ask for what you want if you ever expect a chance to get it. Another great friend of mine used to say... "It's hard to be on top of the world when you are trying to carry it on your shoulders".

With a new year comes new thoughts and ideas. New resolutions and new beginnings. Where am I going this year? For once, I don't know the answer to that and I'm ok with that. Who knows, I may simply find the floor of my basement and de-clutter or become an organizing freak... not! One thing I do hope is that I continue to laugh at myself frequently and continue to be a good role model for my kids. I am not guaranteed tomorrow so I think I'll just make the best of today and live in it.

Ok... have a good one all
Hugs
Rachel

January 6th, 2012

Hi Everyone,

I've taken a good break and had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. I'm ready to get back to blogging some and am not sure how many of you are still following my posts. It has snowed a few flakes here and there in Maryland, been below 30 degrees on a few occasions and I'm simplifying and going with the philosophy of less is more and cleaning out the clutter that has massed itself in my home. If I had to move tomorrow, would I be willing to move... xyz item with me. If not, than it goes to the next lucky contestant or whoever can make good use of said item.

I want very much to do another shoe drive, but want to do some things a little differently. I have some ideas in mind and have been brainstorming about warehouse facilities and potential storage facilities as well as adding another county to the collection. Ideally, I would like to host the shoe drive each September ending around the first week in November. Still not sure that I'm game for it again, but I'm beginning the planning process.

I will be going back to Kigoma, Africa in June. Six months exactly from today. I'm excited to see the kids again and have asked my brother to go with me.

A part of me also is struggling with concern about the needs of people right here in our United States. Consequently, I have been doing a great deal of thinking about philanthropy and work involved in that aspect.

When I stop and ask God what I should do? The answer is to simply be in your own skin and be comfortable for a while. Therefore, I've been drinking a lot of tea (ginger and lemon has been a favorite) and hot chocolate. I've been doing the laundry, sorting through the mass of mess and just trying to be comfortable sitting and reading a book. It's kind of strange, but I'm living in my skin and being in the present.

Ok... that's it for now. It's Friday night and that's Pizza Night in this house.
Hugs
Rachel

Fostering teamwork leads to wondrous achievements

Fostering teamwork leads to wondrous achievements

One Person

This is a post I began a few days ago, but I wanted to get it out. Even though the shoe drive is over, I still have lots of pictures to post, thoughts and ideas to share with people. I'll work more on my blog over Thanksgiving break. Have a safe and good time with your family and friends this Thanksgiving.
Hugs
Rachel

54,320 Shoes


27,160 Pairs of Shoes

17,570 Pairs of Shoes on the 1st truck

9,580 Pairs of Shoes on the 2nd truck

2,800 pairs of shoes that couldn't fit on the first truck

500 plus hours of community service from many

21 Schools

12 Weeks

10 Churches

7 Village Centers

3 Gyms

2 Colleges

1 Community

1 Person


We ALL made a difference in the lives of so many other people much less fortunate than ourselves.


Today I find myself with a lot of mixed emotions. I packed up the last of the shoes and cleaned out the warehouse. A chapter in my life closes. I have met so many incredible, kind, wonderful and hard working people. From the littlest ones that I got to read a book to sharing with them how I found out about Soles4Souls and telling them they too would be added to my list of friends to the elderly people that I helped by simply giving them a hug, smiling at them and saying "Thank you".

I could hear their wonder and amazement in the voices of so many. "Wow! Really! What was it like? Did you have fun? What was hard? Why are you doing this again? Did you ever think????" I smile and say to myself... No, God does all my thinking these days... I'm just a vehicle to share joy to others.

Today I spoke with a reporter from Patuxent Publishing Company. I found myself with tears in my eyes because I know how much joy all the shoes I collected will mean to the people that will get them. Happiness for others. Such a wonderful thing.

The best way I can describe my shoe drive/collection is that EVERY day when I would collect or receive more shoes I felt like a child on Christmas morning getting tons of presents.

So my tears were those of happiness for others and to have been able to successfully share their stories to so many members of the community in which I live in. Their message was heard from this county.

One person told me to imagine providing 1/2 of the Raven's Stadium with shoes. That certainly puts into perspective how many shoes I collected.

There SOME Shoes Go...Here Shoes Come

Ok.. so yesterday was a little emotional for me. The first of two trucks came to pick up the shoes that I have collected over the past two and a half months. I wanted to be sure to post lots of pictures so here goes.

First the truck arrives and backs into the truck bay.

Howard from the Tasty T-Shirt Company next door was an incredible help!

Howard and the truck driver, Henry loading up.

Half done... still more to go.

Now... that's one full truck load of shoes!!

Now... a couple of things....

1. Todd knows of all people... I'll try on any hat...and sit in any seat, at least for a moment. I remember being told... "Get out of the front seat" in Dubai and it taking a few minutes for me to figure out why women can't sit in the front seat there. Gladly after Todd said so nicely... "Rachel, we know you can... now get out of the seat" I moved rather expeditiously out of the front seat of the van to the airport. Next question, who was going with me in another van/car... because I wasn't going nowhere by myself in Dubai.

2. That picture of me in the truck... Many of you may or may not know I have a great knowledge of the trucking industry and my previous exposure in working with the Department of Transportation here in Washington, D.C. I couldn't get over Boomer the latest spokesperson for Soles4Souls. So that is my "Boomette" impression! Love you Boomer!

3. The truck was late by 2 hours and my good friend Emily was able to get my younger kids off the bus for me after she helped me pack more shoes at the warehouse. She has been such a sounding board from the very beginning of this chapter in my life. When I told her I was going to Africa right before I left Emily gave me her beads to wear that a friend had brought her from Africa and told me... that I was to return them... wearing them. In other words... to be safe. We share the same birthday and have children that know how to make a difference with compassion and empathy that are the best of friends. Here is a picture of the two of us at our kids Halloween Parade... we are the fun Moms. No sticks in the mud or Debbie Downers here.

3. Close to the end of the day I was literally running across the soccer field with three kids to get Sarah to soccer practice on time. Tagging my husband Bill and saying... "You're it" and going to pick up two more drop off locations that were taking over the facility with overflowing shoe boxes.

4. The very end of the day I got a phone call from Julie Reybold, Curtis's Mom. Curtis has been at the warehouse many many days and had me in tears the day he picked up two boxes and carried them like they were Twinkies. I struggled with one box full of shoes and here he comes with two. Curtis a senior at Reservoir High School has really taken on the lead of collecting shoes and getting them to the warehouse. He has been a wonderful inspiration to me. When I asked him one day why he was at the warehouse helping me his response was... "Because it's the right thing to do." Profound. I only hope I am raising my own children to do things because it's the right thing to do.

Ok.. time to get a move on it today. Lunches to make and children to wake.

Have a great day Everyone,

Hugs,

Rachel

Pictures

Ok... so most of you know I'm not really great about getting pictures out so here's a few.



This is from Hammond High who brought in over 3000 plus pairs of shoes!!!! Somehow, my kids are not in high school yet and I love that bear!

Wayne Elsey came and spoke at Hammond

George Carter, Me and Wayne at Howard County Community College. George gave Wayne his first job in the shoe industry and owns the shoe store in the mall right here in Columbia. Good times.

A shoe I made for my son's halloween costume a few years ago. Little did I know how much red chucks would mean to me in the future. The piles of shoes at the warehouse.

Howard High Students did an fantastic job as well. Over 1600 pairs of shoes! Awesome job everyone!

More pics of the warehouse and shoes. Lots and lots of shoes!

The pallets ready for the truck!

A little Halloween fun for the big kids too. Daphanie and Velma found a monster at our kids school...ZOINKS! My kids were Velma, Raggedy Ann and a Sock Monkey. Lot of fun was had by all.

I'm still packing and packing and packing. I'm making my final collections this week and picking up collection boxes. It's been a good shoe drive/collection. Thanks everyone for letting me be an active part in your community! WE MATTER AND WE MADE A DIFFERENCE!

TO DATE WE HAVE COLLECTED 20, 470 PAIRS OF SHOES! THAT'S 40,940 SHOES IN ALL AND THAT'S A LOT OF SHOES!

Hugs,

Rachel

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

Warehouse Times for the Weekend

Friday 9/30 6pm until 8pm
Saturday 10/1 2pm to 5pm
Sunday 10/2 4 to 6pm

It's the opening of soccer games this weekend and I want to be there to cheer the kids on. If you can make it out that would be great. Bring a water bottle and come on out for some good times and doing something good.

Check back Monday for an updated count of how many shoes we have collected.

Hugs,
Rachel

Check out that shoe!!!!

Is that not cool!!!

Way to go NORTHFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!!!!

Even a child can make a difference!

And they are SOOOO excited about the collection.

KUDOOS to KATHY BISHOP for heading this up. YOU ROCK KATHY!

Warehouse Location & Times

For those checking my blog.... just want to let you know the location of the warehouse.

9385 Washington Blvd
Laurel, Md 20723

I'll be there this weekend at the following times.

Friday: 6:30 pm to ???
Saturday: 2pm to ???? (most likely 5pm or 6pm)
Sunday: 2pm to 5pm

If you want to come down and help out... would love to have your support. If you can't make it... say a prayer for me. I do have a cd/radio player with a hanger for an antenna, we listen to tunes and have a good time while doing good work for a great cause.

Bring your water bottle and come on over.

Otherwise... I'm looking for more pictures to post here next week. If you are collecting and want to send me your pictures from your shoe drive... I'd love to have them.

Lastly, to those waiting to hear from me.... I'm super busy and trying to coordinate pick-ups and establishing people doing their current drive/collections. Please know the squeaky wheel gets greased first and I'm a human being.... not a human doing. 24 hours in a day for a reason.... constant reminders I give myself. You may have to call me or e-mail me a second time, but I sincerely and graciously appreciate ALL the wonderful work from our community!

We are making the world a better place one pair of shoes at a time.
Hugs,
Rachel

Who Is My Littlest Helper?

Who is my littlest helper yet?

Who is that helping me lift boxes out to get ready for shoes?

I always say... lotta hands... little work! And here even the littlest hand are helping.

As a parent I feel compelled to explain to our children that WE have a GOOD life here in America. That others in the world do not have something as simple as shoes to cover their feet.

What I love is when other parents share that same responsibility in educating their children. It is truly in sharing what we have learned and experienced that we benefit.

I think of Mufia often and sharing all the kids stories that I met on my trip to Africa with Soles4Souls. They can't come here, but I was fortunate enough to be able to go there and bring home their stories to others here.

Now... Who is my littlest helper? Ben of course!!!

Ben I know you'll love this post. But I must mention that Ben was one of the few men on our trip in the crazy old man's hat that I came to love seeing each and every day.

Here's a picture of Ben carrying shoes. See his Archie Bunker style hat. I loved seeing that every day!

Sofie their dog even gets into the action.

Ben, thanks for your smiles, your laughter and your smiles. Most importantly thanks for being my youngest helper yet! You ARE an AWESOME friend, neighbor, and buddy of mine!

YOU ROCK!!!

Hugs,

Rachel

Yep... That's Wayne Elsey

Ok.... so I'm finally getting a few minutes to update and post some of what's been happening. F I N A L L Y.... I'm TAKING the time because it's important to me.

Wayne is the Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls and I had the great opportunity to meet with him briefly on his way home recently from a speaking engagement.

At first I was a little floored that someone who had a vision for others to not be shoeless wanted to meet me. Then I realized I'm just like him. We want to see things happen and see people get off of the couch and do something. Not just talk about it. It takes courage, faith and willingness to take a risk and do something that hasn't been done before. Those are the traits that I see in both of us. Being willing to take a chance and if it fails well then at least we tried. If it succeeds than what a wonderful thing to make the lives of others better.

At his suggestion I called Mrs. Busch, Wayne's 10th grade english teacher who he writes about in his book, Almost Isn't Good Enough. It had been raining non-stop for days. Streets were flooding out right and left, schools were having a hard time starting due to electrical outages and well I think I was just feeling a little down so I decided to give her a call. What a great woman. So full of energy and spunk. I loved having the conversation with her and hope to go meet her one day soon.

This is me and Sean Lewis. Sean is the Faith Engagement Manager at the Soles4Souls Headquarter office in Tennessee. In other words, he works with a lot of churches and religious organizations that want to get involved with Soles4Souls.

Which brings me to another important topic. One of the questions I continually get asked in doing my shoe drive is "what church or religious organization are you with?". Soles4Souls has NO religious affiliation which is one of the reasons why I like them. I'm not against religion I simply try to keep things simple. Being shoeless doesn't care about your color, race, religion or beliefs. It's a lot like hunger, aids and cancer. When you don't have shoes on your feet, you don't have shoes on your feet. The other thing that comes to mind is that out of the group that went to Africa, we were all people that wanted to do something for the good of all people. Imagine me with 20 other people and not really knowing anyone else. After our first 12.5hr flight and definately by the end of the trip it was sad to say goodbye to some of the great people I got to spend 10 days with.

On that note, I'm going to go collect some more filled boxes and take them to the warehouse.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hugs

Rachel