USA (MNN) ― A radio station in Texas is encouraging listeners to be "doers" and not just "hearers" only. KVTT 91.7FM station manager Doug Price says they're partnering this Saturday with Buckner International's Shoes for Orphan Souls for a "Sole-d Out" celebration.
Price explains, "We learned that the opportunity to be able to collect shoes from our listeners was available. It had not been done in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the last five years, so we wanted to get out there and be able to let our listeners participate in an international missions project. Thus far, we've been just thrilled with the result." More than 2,000 people are expected to attend, and many more have already indicated interest in bringing shoes.
Sole-d Out is an unprecedented event for Buckner, because it is the first Shoes for Orphan Souls event in its originating city of Dallas, TX.
Saturday's festival runs from noon to 5 pm and provides a family environment with food, bounce houses for the kids, and Christian artists such as Salvador, Susan Gray, Darrell Evans and Christian Ebner.
The Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid will be open for tours to offer participants a view of where all donated shoes and socks are sorted and stored before being shipped off to needy children in more than 55 countries. The Center is a 45,000-square-foot warehouse near the border of Dallas and Mesquite.
The building holds about 150,000 pairs of shoes at any one time, and along with racks and loading docks, it includes a spacious, air-conditioned area for the 4,000 volunteers a year who come to sort and pack shoes, socks and other items.
Price says the shoe drive and distribution trips go a long ways toward making faith in Christ real. "The Christian church has put a lot of emphasis on evangelism and that moment in time when we make the decision for Christ. I think the focus needs to be on discipleship. This is an opportunity for people to get out and actually show who they are in Christ."
Click here if your church or community
organization wants to help sponsor a shoe drive.
