Shoes allow us to get through our daily tasks without having to think about hot concrete, cold snow or rocky roads. But what if you don’t have the right shoes or any shoes at all? Bill Gates said it was the lack of shoes he remembers most about visiting different countries. People so poor and with no shoes inspired one of the richest men in the world to fight poverty.
Shoes are important. This is why CERI has provided over 100,000 winter boots over the past 20 years to orphans in Eastern Europe. This year’s Shoe Mission will continue the tradition, but it will do more than provide shoes. Here are 4 ways the Shoe Mission is about more than just shoes.
1. The Shoe Mission gives orphans an opportunity to grow in a loving family
The Shoe Mission helps children living in foster care and orphanages have a warm pair of boots for winter. But what these children need most is a family – the warmth of a home and the love of parents.
Through the Shoe Mission, we meet over 5,000 children waiting for a forever family. After our trucks drive away and volunteers fly home, CERI begins building relationships with the children and orphanage staff we met during the Shoe Mission. This is the start of our long-term work to ensure every one of those kids who received a pair of boots has the chance grow in a loving family – an orphan’s greatest wish.
Being a part of the Shoe Mission makes you a part of the lifelong impact in children’s lives.
2. The Shoe Mission connects new people with a common passion
3. The Shoe Mission builds lasting relationships for children without a family
The biggest need in a vulnerable child’s life is caring individuals who support them in their development. In addition to compassionate orphanage care takers and case managers, children in orphanages need more people who have their best interest in mind.
What happens when the person who cares lives thousands of miles away in a different country and doesn’t speak the child’s language? Can this person still make a difference in that child’s life? Yes!
CERI volunteers who join a child’s circle of support become child sponsors. The desire to help, born while on a CERI mission trip, is the beginning of a lasting relationship in that child’s life. Child sponsors provide financial support, pray from afar, encourage through letters, visit occasionally and transform a child’s life forever.
When asked what her favorite part of the Shoe Mission has been, child sponsor and Shoe Mission volunteer, Regina, says, “Finding my sponsored child.”
The Shoe Mission is the perfect opportunity to meet children whose live can be transformed by relationships with caring volunteers.
4. The Shoe Mission reminds you of what matters in life
The Shoe Mission is about more than just shoes with an impact that outlives the trip and stays in the hearts of everyone involved.
