The Board of Directors unanimously approved a communitywide shoe drive for the organization Soles4Souls, initiated by Sun City N33 Resident Dave Nash on September 24. The motion approved the Neighborhood Advisory Council’s (NAC) plan to place two collection boxes in both the Prairie and Meadowview Lodges from October 13 through 27.
Nash said, “Sun City residents Sandi Karnatz (N33) and Dolores Fischer (N35) greatly assisted in the coordination of the shoe drive.”
A total of fourteen neighborhoods actively participated in collecting shoes during the two-week period at the lodges in October. The Tennis Club, Prairie Singers Club, and Grandma, Grandpa, & Me Club also contributed shoes directly or through their neighborhoods.
The donations exceeded everyone’s expectations, and plans to mail the shoes were scrapped in favor of a truck pickup. On Monday, November 17, two hundred-plus boxes and numerous bags of shoes were loaded onto a 26-foot truck. The 7,001 pairs of shoes filled almost the entire truck’s cab.
Nash said, “Six firefighters and interns from the Huntley Fire and seven individuals from the men’s ministry group at Light of Christ Church located in Algonquin greatly assisted us in loading over 8,000 pounds of shoes onto the transport truck.”
The truck headed to the Soles4Souls central warehouse in Alabama, filled with Sun City’s donations.
Nash said, “Many thanks again to Sun City and NAC leadership for their support in helping to change the lives of thousands of people in need of shoes throughout the United States and overseas.”
