Shoes of Service

Why plan on surgery when we have the opportunity to prevent it? The Shoes of Service campaign is geared towards aggregating new and lightly used shoes for those in need to help prevent future foot and ankle problems.

While visiting Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, Dr. Chris and Dr. Allison quickly realized that many individuals could not afford or did not have access to basic shoe-gear. In fact, watching children run barefoot and in flip-flops in a 2016 fundraising 5k fun run in the Dominican Republic was the eye-opening motivation that inspired their newest campaign, Shoes of Service! In an attempt to prevent the many foot and ankle problems the doctors routinely see in the clinic, such as flat feet and club feet, distributing supportive shoes to children in need is the sole purpose of this campaign. Surgeons of Service is now partnering with schools to help collect these shoes.

Ambassador Program

Da Vinci Foot & Ankle

Da Vinci Foot & Ankle locations in 2016-2017 have already collected over 1000 pairs of adult and childrens shoes from generous patients. These shoes are to benefit the children in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic as well as those in need in the surrounding counties including Greene, Putnam, Morgan and McDuffie County. In fact, Da Vinci Foot & Ankle has partnered with Second Harvest in Greene County, where their team of doctors will not only spend time providing basic foot screenings and offering basic medical care on-site at no cost but they will also distribute shoes to those in need.

Shoe donations are currently accepted throughout the year at both Da Vinci Foot and Ankle locations.

Lake Oconee Academy

Surgeons of Service has partnered with Lake Oconee Academy (LOA) to run a bi-annual internal school shoe drive to help collect shoes from the students to benefit the children in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic as well as the tri-county area of Greene, Putnam, and Morgan County. Lake Oconee Academy is located in Greensboro, Georgia.

Additionally, Lake Oconee Academy has two AP classes (AP Human Geography and AP Spanish Language and Culture) participating in the WE.org service program. The WE.org Learning Framework gives students the foundation to explore issues like hunger, poverty, and lack of education and encourages students to plan at least one local and one global action to improve their community and the world. Students who complete the program earn a service recognition on their transcript.

Anna Harris, a sophomore at Lake Oconee Academy, has organized a 5K and Fun Run as her WE Service project that will become an annual event to fundraise for the Shoes of Service Program. The funds raised from the event will be used towards the logistical cost of transporting & distributing shoes in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic.

Gatewood Schools

Surgeons of Service has partnered with the Gatewood School's Interact Club to run an annual internal school shoe drive to help collect shoes from the students to benefit the children in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic as well as the tri-county area of Greene, Putnam, and Morgan County. Gatewood Schools is located Eatonton, Georgia.

Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. Gatewood Schools has recently formed their Interact Club with over 25 charter members. and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties. The Interact Club helps students to develop leadership skills and personal integrity, demonstrate helpfulness and respect for others, understand the value of individual responsibility and hard work, and advance international understanding and goodwill.

Putnam County High School

Surgeons of Service has partnered with Putnam County High School and their Journalism organization! The Putnam County High School Aerie Yearbook Staff is conducting a shoe drive and 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.

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.”

Briarwood Academy

Surgeons of Service has partnered with Briarwood Academy and their Cross Country Team!
More Information coming Soon!
12.2.17

Wrens Elementary School Beta Club

The mission statement of the National Beta Club is to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among elementary and secondary school students. We, at Wrens Elementary School, strive to achieve these goals by serving others in our community and abroad. We have participated in several service projects, including collecting water and money for the American Red Cross to give to those affected by hurricanes, collecting money for the Leukemia Foundation and volunteering as student helpers during our school book fair. Currently, we are collecting canned foods for our local food pantry to be distributed to needy families during the holiday season.

We are excited to be a part of the Surgeons for Service project in helping families abroad by collecting shoes to be given to those in need - particularly in the Dominican Republic.