The Putnam County High School Aerie Yearbook Staff is conducting a shoe drive from October 23 – November 3 to benefit the non-profit organization Surgeons of Service (surgeonsofservice.org). Throughout these two weeks, the yearbook staff will be collecting donations of gently used or new shoes. There will be four collection locations: Putnam County Elementary School, Putnam County Middle School, Putnam County High School, and Eatonton-Putnam County Public Library. Community members can drop off their shoes in identified collection bins at any of these locations.
Surgeons of Service is a philanthropic organization formed by Dr. Allison Menke and Dr. Christopher Menke of Da Vinci Foot and Ankle. Their Mission is to inspire humanitarian efforts both locally and globally, create poverty awareness, instill education, and provide medical assistance. The shoes collected will benefit families in our local community as well as in other areas of need throughout the United States and abroad. Most recently, shoes from the Surgeons of Service program were sent to Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
Chinwe Umunna (PCHS Senior), a two-year journalism staff member and the chairperson of the Communication and Outreach Committee, has taken the lead in organizing this event. Umunna explained how the yearbook staff got involved in the event: “We had discussed as a staff the importance of communication as a way to build a bridge between our school and the citizens of Eatonton. We knew we wanted to strengthen our relationship with the community through some type of charitable event. When our advisor, Mrs. El-Kadi, mentioned this charity, we all felt committed to helping out with this worthy cause.”
El-Kadi added, “We are excited to be able to partner with Surgeons of Service to give back to the community. The PCHS journalism program considers itself to be a service organization in that we are dedicated to facilitating trust and goodwill amongst our student body and the community at large. We do this through publishing a high quality yearbook that students will cherish for years to come and sharing information about student events and successes with our community. This shoe drive just takes our service one step further so that we can help to meet the needs of the community that we serve.”
To find out more or to make a monetary donation to help cover the costs of packing and shipping shoes, go to surgeonsofservice.org. Community members can find out more information about enrolling in the shoes of service program in order to receive shoes by going to the website or contacting a Putnam County school counselor.