Holmdel Students Put Their Best Foot Forward

Holmdel High School sophomores Lilly Koch, 16, and Irene Gardis, 15, have a thing for shoes. Running shoes to be exact. So when the time came for the two Cross Country athletes to choose a service project for their Honors English class, collecting shoes for Soles 4 Souls was a perfect fit.

Koch, Gardis, and their classmates have spent the last two months studying the American Transcendentalism movement of the 19th century. Since February, they've been immersed in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. The object of the Transcendentalism Project, according to Holmdel High School English teacher Margaret McDonald, is to allow students to, “cultivate that land given them to till” as Emerson himself put it.  The project seeks to put theory into practice.

“I ask students to design a project that will enable them to spend time developing a skill or talent and then write about that experience,” said McDonald.

“My hope is that they will 'test' an essential theme in Transcendentalism – that we all have a unique contribution to make to the world,” she said.  “I am also hoping that the experience will generate an authentic experience that will allow them to write thoughtful personal narratives.”

Students were allowed to work in pairs or individually, and their ideas had to be approved before beginning. McDonald notes that only a few students have chosen service-oriented projects. Others, she says, are "choreographing dances, writing and performing music, executing paintings, and designing business plans based on Transcendentalist principles."  The main requirement was for students to find an issue that they're passionate about.

“We're both runners and passionate about running,” said Koch, “so we wanted to collect shoes and sneakers to save people's feet, so they could run too. We found Soles 4 Souls.”

Soles 4 Souls is an international organization that has delivered over 15 million pairs of shoes in its five year history, according to their website (that's one pair every seven seconds). Donated shoes have been distributed in 127 countries, including the US. In addition to providing emergency relief, the organization focuses on long-term development via market-based “micro-enterprise programs,” designed to provide impoverished people in developing nations with the resources to start and maintain their own business, according to their mission statement.

“As far as transcendentalism,” said Koch, “when you run, you get closer to your inner self and you get back to nature. That's what we want for other people too.”

So far, Koch says, they've collected about 100 pairs of shoes and are still accepting donations.

Collection boxes for used sneakers, boots, dress shoes, pumps, or sandals in adult or children's sizes are set up in Holmdel High School and the Holmdel Post Office until April 5.