Jul 4, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – When Sister Sue Fazzini and Sister Audrey Quinn started a children’s shoe drive 17 years ago, they had no money and no plan for how their initiative would look down the road. But they knew there was a need in Greene County.

“God has always provided for us in the past,” Fazzini said. “So, we just said ‘OK, whoever needs shoes, let us know.'”

In 1999, they started the Heart ‘n Sole program, which is run through the Waynesburg location of the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh, to raise money and collect new school shoes for children, from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. They started going to shoe stores to buy new shoes and ask for discounts for the drive. Donations from Pittsburgh and Greene County churches and civic groups soon started trickling in.

Now, at the height of the program, the two women distribute more than 400 pairs of shoes a year. They collect the shoes year-round and store them in their “shoe room” in their Ruff Creek home. Every July, they sign families up using SNAP and income information.

“They have to be from Greene County and they have to have a need,” Quinn said. “Then we give the shoes out in August, right before the kids go back to school.”

This year, they are expecting a larger need because of increasing unemployment rates throughout the county. They already have about 300 pairs of shoes stored at their house that they plan to donate, but they anticipate needing more than 500.

“It’s a tough time right now,” Fazzini said. “A lot of people are struggling and it’s just hard to make ends meet. If we can make things easier by offering one less thing they need to buy, then that’s what we want to do.”

Fazzini said one year, a 17-year-old boy called them asking for a new pair of shoes. He told them he wore a size 10, but if they only had size 9, “I’ll just wear thin socks.”

Fazzini said they got him a new pair of size 10 shoes and delivered them to his house.

“He was thrilled and literally had tears in his eyes,” she said.

Quinn said over the years, they’ve had new families and some that are regulars every year.

“It’s hard for kids who can’t afford things to go to school, especially, when the other kids have all new things, and they don’t,” she said. “We just wanted to equalize that a little bit.”

Families in need of shoes can complete an application at The Salvation Army, 131 W. First St., Waynesburg, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, throughout July. Photo ID and a current SNAP letter listing household members are required.

“People are always asking how they can help,” Quinn said. “Greene County is the most generous county in Pennsylvania.”

For more information or to make a donation, contact Quinn or Fazzini at 724-852-4323.