Local Mar Vista Kid Organizes Shoe Drive for Japan

Soles4Souls, the Nashville-based charity that collects shoes and distributes them to people in need across the world, teamed up with Sports Chalet stores shortly after last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Since March 18, people have been able to drop off their gently used or brand new men’s, women’s and children’s shoes to any of Sport Chalet’s 55 locations around Los Angeles. The drive ends this Sunday and all the shoes collected will be donated to Japan.

However, one local teenager wanted to go one step further. Erin Fitz contacted the and asked to set up a shoe drive at the center itself. Fitz is no stranger to shoe drives. Last year she did the same thing as part of the Soles4Souls project, and collected 258 pairs of shoes for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

On Saturday, Fitz will be setting up camp again at the center. Residents can come by between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to donate their shoes, which will then be packaged up and dropped off at the Sport Chalet store on Sepulveda Boulevard at the end of the day.

Elizabeth Narvaez, the recreation coordinator and acting director of the Mar Vista Recreation Center told Mar Vista Patch, "Erin is a worldly teenager who is very conscious of tragedies around the world and always wants to help out.”

Narvaez said the center had already planned on holding a shoe drive on its own when Fitz approached her to team up again this year with Sport Chalet and collect shoes at the center.

“Erin will be here all day Saturday,” Narvaez said. We’ll set up a tent right outside the main building, Erin will bring containers for the shoes and we’ll provide plastic bags to wrap them in. Our goal is to collect more shoes than we did for last year’s [Haiti] effort.”

Narvaez added that the center was also approached by the mother of a 6-year-old boy on one of the local soccer teams. She said her son wants to set up a table where people can buy snacks and then donate the money to Japan. The soccer team is mobilizing to make that happen.

 The donation drive runs from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday April 9, 2011 at the Mar Vista Recreation Center, 11430 Woodbine St., 90066.

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