DECEMBER 22, 2011 ISSUE
Shoes for South Africa
Local Kids’ Goodwill Organization Sends New Shoes to Orphans
Members of A.P.E. display pairs of shoes they purchased with money they raised for children at Lebone Orphanage in South Africa. Barbara Ramsdell (back row, far right) suggested the project after living in South Africa earlier this year.Thanks to a group of charitable, energetic kids from Valle Crucis, 42 boys and girls at a South African orphanage will have brand new shoes this Christmas.
The project is the latest of several philanthropic ventures by A.P.E., founded by six young girls at Valle Crucis Elementary School a few years ago to raise money for causes dedicated to animals, people and the environment.
The members—most who are in seventh and eighth grades now—fundraise throughout the year and then reach consensus on community projects and causes to support, akin to grant-awarding foundations.
Always anxious to give, A.P.E. members had money burning a hole in their account from sales of refreshments at this past summer’s Music in the Park series in Valle Crucis. Barbara Ramsdell, 14, one of the founding members of A.P.E., suggested buying Christmas gifts for kids at an orphanage in South Africa. Ramsdell lived in South Africa from January to June of this year while her dad was working at a university there as part of an off-campus scholarly assignment for ASU.
“It was really fun. It was interesting to learn about that part of the world,” Ramsdell said. “We asked the kids there what they wanted for Christmas, and they said they wanted shoes, so that’s what we did.”
Lebone Orphanage in Bloemfontein,South Africa, is home to children who become orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS.
“We went one day, and I got to see it and meet some of the kids,” said Ramsdell.
To raise additional funds for the project, Valle Crucis Elementary Principal Martha Clark agreed to hold “Hat Day” at the school.
“It was on a Friday, [and] you could pay a dollar to wear a hat,” Ramsdell explained.
A.P.E. wrote to the children at Lebone to ask what kind of shoes they would like. Olivia Waters, 13, president of A.P.E., said, “All the boys either wanted athletic shoes or high-tops. The girls wanted ballet flats or high-tops.”
Waters said A.P.E. members split into three groups—one to shop for boys, one to shop for girls and one to shop for other items to include, such as socks, notepads and pencils.
“We averaged at about $10 a pair, some were a little more,” said Olivia Handley, 13, who was in charge of wrapping the gifts and tagging them.
“It’s because I mentioned how much I love to wrap presents,” she said.
A.P.E. members spent almost as much on shipping as they did on the gifts—about $400.
“We sent them off around a week ago, so they would arrive around close to Christmastime,” Waters said.
Past beneficiaries of A.P.E.’s goodwill projects include O.A.S.I.S., Valle Crucis Elementary, the Watauga Humane Society and Pennies for Peace, a project to raise money for schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Handley noted the shoes project was “our first international project where we really got to connect with the people. We’ve done Pennies for Peace, but that’s less direct.
“Considering [Ramsdell] had been there and met the kids, it was a really fun thing,” she added.
A.P.E. members also plan to become pen pals with children at the orphanage.
“We’re all psyched about that. We’re all sending them letters soon,” said Handley.
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