Through Chaminade University, 86 people will now be receiving a gently used pair of shoes, a constant need at the Institute for Human Services shelter. Thanks to the organization efforts of Chaminade Student Government Association and Angela Coloretti, Career Services director, IHS can continue to help underprivileged individuals who occupy their shelter.

Chaminade participated in the Save Your Soles event from Oct. 7 to Oct. 18. Save your Soles is a shoe-recycling program where gently used shoes are donated to others who are less fortunate. IHS is a comprehensive social service agency that is working to prevent and end homeless in Hawaii.

Coloretti who is also on the board for GreenFleet Hawaii brought the idea of participating in the event to CSGA. This year, GreenFleet Hawaii and various other sponsors implemented a Healthy Halloween Fair to be held on Saturday, Oct 26, at Magic Island. The theme for this year’s fair was “Treat Your Feet.” The fair will be hosting various events and activities, and Save Your Soles is one of them.

CSGA House of Representatives, Carlos Cortes, a sophomore, helped with the collection of donations around campus.

“It was a pretty good turnout,” Cortes said. “CSGA was hoping to get at least 60 pairs donated.”

If a student is in sports, he or she uses their shoes until it gets old. What students do not realize is that it is still useful to others who do not have any.

“There are bigger things going on that students don’t think about,” Coloretti said. “The shoes get reborn.”

Students who donated shoes helped contribute to the community by giving others something they won’t use any longer.

Hawaii Self Storage also contributed to the event by donating large packing boxes as donation bins around Chaminade. Hawaii Self Storage had collection boxes in their offices as well. Vendors empting out their units were able to donate to the cause.

CSGA had bins set up throughout campus in the Loo Center, Behavioral Sciences, Sullivan Family Library, Student Support Services and various off campus housing locations. The library donation box was a big draw and collected majority of the donations.

An event like this benefits homeless who stay in the IHS over night shelter downtown. Coloretti said on any given evening there is approximately 90 families that stay at the shelter. Of these 90 families, 30-50 of them are children.

The event targets college, high school and elementary students to donate so IHS receives a good range of sizes. Ten bags of shoes were dropped off Monday, Oct. 21, by Chaminade University, at the IHS shelter for distribution. Throughout the week more shoes were donated, increasing the number of donations from 74 to 86. Coloretti noted, “172 soles were saved!”

If there is an overflow in the amount of shoes the shelter receives they donate it to other partners. None of the shoes that are donated get resold.

Coloretti felt it was only fitting to participate in the donation event because it raises awareness for students. Chaminade surpassed the goal it set for donations to IHS for the Save Your Soles event.