This year the co-ed service fraternity Sigma Alpha Beta, Capital will support the Shoeman Water Project as its philanthropy. The Shoeman Water
Project is a branch of Eagle Wing Ministries and is a registered non-profit charity organization. Its main focus is to lessen human suffering caused by lack of sufficient water.
The Shoeman Project collects new and gently-used shoes from people who donate them, and then exports them to highly-impoverished areas around the globe such as South America, Haiti, India, Africa where both shoes and clean water are scarce.
The project resells the shoes at economical prices to allow business, money and economic movement within the impoverished area, as well as giving impoverished people much needed footwear.
After the shoes are sold the Shoeman project uses all of its profits to purchase welldrilling rigs, water purification systems, and other necessary supplies to assist in bringing safe, clean fresh water to the same impoverished areas.
From August of 2008 to September of 2011 the Shoeman Project has collected at least l.6 million pairs of shoes, which have provided for the purchase of four drilling rigs.
These rigs have drilled 250 wells across the globe and the wells serve 200,000 people in homes, schools, and clinics.
Senior Brooke Apple and Sophomore Anastasia Peltomaa are the main coordinators of the philanthropy project for Sigma Alpha Beta this year.
“Someone from my family originally suggested to me, the idea of the Shoeman Water Project. The idea was then brought up to the organization as a whole and it’s taken off from there,” Apple said.
Peltomaa explains that this year, Sigma Alpha Beta was looking for a philanthropy project that would not require students to raise money but would instead allow them to contribute by giving something they already had.
“People won’t have to spend money to help, they can donate shoes they aren’t using any longer in order to make a difference,” Peltomaa said.
Sigma Alpha Beta’s goal is to collect 5,000 pairs of shoes by May 1.
“By reaching our goal of at least 5,000 pairs of shoes we can help ensure that Shoeman is capable of doing the work that they do with building water wells for clean water, as well as providing shoes at a low and reasonable price for those who need them,” Peltomaa said.
The Shoeman Water Project just finished up its most recent work in Kenya with their fourth water well in January.
“And as Shoeman says, ‘Here at Shoeman Water Projects we prefer your sole over your money…your shoe sole that is! The more soles you donate the more clean water we can provide!’” Apple said.
