INDIANAPOLIS and MARION, IN (March 19, 2014) -- As a direct result of shoe collections and fundraising leading up to the Indiana Credit Union League’s 2013 Convention, hundreds of children in Indianapolis and in Marion have new shoes. The collection during the League’s 2013 Convention netted shoes and monetary donations equivalent to 1,345 pairs of shoes for Samaritan’s Feet.
Credit unions in the Grant County Chapter partnered with the Grant County Boys & Girls Club in Marion over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend. There were 45 volunteers representing Afena FCU, Fortress FCU and Via CU who worked together to provide new shoes and socks for the children. Dave Abernathy, CEO of Via CU, who is also a member of the League’s Convention Committee, organized the shoe collection that culminated at the 2013 Convention, and he was also instrumental in putting together the Marion event.
On March 8, another shoe distribution took place at the Shepherd Community Center on the east side of Indianapolis. Volunteers distributed 360 of the 562 pairs of shoes that Shepherd Community Center neighbors registered for. Since the Center serves residents of homeless shelters and other transient individuals, not all of the registered recipients were able to be there on Saturday. Shepherd plans to distribute the remaining shoes to those individuals who registered and were not able to make it as well as other children who are in need in the community who are directly connected to the center or served by other key partners. Representatives from Eli Lilly FCU, Financial Center FCU, Indiana Members CU, Via CU and the League were among the 100+ volunteers at the Indianapolis event.
“Indiana credit unions have partnered with Samaritan’s Feet since 2010 when Samaritan’s Feet Founder Manny Ohonme spoke at a League event,” said League President John McKenzie “Since that time, Indiana credit unions have helped provide more than 7,700 pairs of shoes to those individuals who need them most.”
The 2014 League Convention (October 15-17) will once again be a collection point for shoes and monetary donations for Samaritan’s Feet.
About Samaritan’s Feet
Samaritan’s Feet is a 501(c)3 humanitarian aid organization that shares a message of hope and love through washing the feet of impoverished children around the world and providing them with new shoes. Since its founding in 2003, the organization has distributed more than four million pairs of shoes in more than 60 nations.