By Madison Basco, Staff Writer
November 20, 2022
Last year a Bible Study on campus decided to donate money for seven kids in Zambia to get new shoes. This year a group of students decided to go a step further and raise enough money for the entire school creating the fundraiser, Kicks for Kids.
Kids for Kids’ goal is to raise $12,000 to buy shoes for 374 orphaned children in Zambia. Wes Guerra is one of the students who helped start up the fundraiser, intending to help children and glorify God in the process.
“These kids are not allowed to attend school without shoes,” Guerra said. “The average family in this area of Zambia lives on $2 per day, so providing their children with a new pair of shoes would help to relieve a large financial burden from these families. I helped organize the fundraiser, but none of it would have been possible without the power of God.”
Each child will receive a new pair of high quality shoes, a Bible, and a handwritten note of encouragement at a cost of approximately $30. Guerra explains that the idea for the fundraiser came from a student who went to the school in Zambia.
“Able Kusaloka had the idea for the fundraiser, “ Guerra said. “Able was a student at the same school in Zambia before he was adopted and came to the United States. He has stayed in touch with one of his teachers at the school, and asked the group of students last year if they would donate for 7 kids.”
Kicks for Kids has been set up in the Stu this past week to encourage students to get involved and donate. Several students have ran to social media, posting on their stories and spreading the word. Guerra claims that they have almost passed $5,000 in donations.
“We’d love for the entire campus to be involved and to give any amount or to write a note for a kid,” Guerra said. “All recognition belongs to God and that was our goal from the beginning.”
Students can get involved by sending any amount of money via Cashapp to $Kix4Kidz or via Venmo to @Kicks-for-Kids. Students can also choose to write notes of encouragement for the kids to receive with their shoes. They can drop off the notes at Dr. Brune’s office or slide them under his door if he isn’t there.
“This has honestly been a really cool experience seeing people open their hearts to help less fortunate people, ” Guerra said. “We knew when we started that most college students weren’t going to have a lot of disposable income to give towards this, but the willingness to give has been truly encouraging and I’m proud to go to a school whose students embrace an attitude of service and giving.”
