Covert Elementary School students wrap up shoe drive

Fifth-graders at William S. Covert Elementary School donated more than 100 bags of shoes to help countries struggling with the aftermath of natural disasters.

Forty-seven students from Mara Turchin and Christopher Zappia’s classes had been collecting donations for the shoe drive since last October. On Jan. 16, a fundraising organization called Funds2Orgs came to retrieve the mountainous pile of footwear.

“This was an amazing opportunity for students to truly understand the meaning of philanthropy,” Turchin said. “They were dedicated and focused on achieving their goal, which they were ecstatic that they reached.”

The shoes will be refurbished and sent to “micro-entrepreneurs” in impoverished countries that set up small businesses and sell the shoes, creating economic opportunity in their neighborhoods.