West Deptford Track Team Collects 'Soles for Souls'

West Deptford girls track coach Mark Drummond knows that prom season means a lot of the students on his team will be doing some shoe shopping.

It's a great opportunity for them to think about some other people who won't be getting new shoes—or shoes of any kind, for that matter—without some help.

That's why he flipped the kids the keys to a high-school fundraiser that will have them collecting gently used footwear to send to needy individuals overseas.

"I always like to coordinate some kind of community service event with my team," Drummond said.

"About three or four years ago we did something similar," he said. "I saw something like this recently in a running magazine and thought, 'let's put it together'."

The project is also a good opportunity for high schoolers on his team to "take the lead" on a community service project, Drummond said. 

Valerie Palmer, Jennifer Dean, Amber Jones, Kelli Dougherty, Kelli Tachbjian and Bridget Arseneau are leading the collection, which will benefit the nonprofit Soles for Souls.

Drummond stressed that the team is collecting footwear that has been gently used; however, brand new shoes are even better.

"Maybe people have something in the back of the closet that they never wore," Drummond said. "Scuffed, out of style; we'll take them."

Collection boxes will be posted in the homerooms and main lobby of West Deptford High School, Drummond said, so parents can stop in or drop off their donations at the beginning of the day as well.

A footwear drive hits particularly close to home for track and field athletes, Drummond said, who can be replacing their athletic shoes sometimes twice within a season. 

"Usually it's by mileage," he said, "every 200 to 300 miles; they go pretty quick. If you're a sprinter, you might do 2 miles, 3 miles a day; one pair might get you through a season, if you're distance it might be more frequently."

By his recollection, Drummond said, the last drive netted "maybe 150 or 200 pairs.

"We'd like to see what we can do this time," he said. "If we get a big number, that's what we're hoping for."