Rachel Osborne

They boys cross country team poses after they won first place at the Parkway Quad. The team held a fundraiser for “the Shoeman” George Hutchings at the Quad, and the deadline to donate shoes has been extended to Sept. 21 so that everyone can donate their used shoes. “The Shoeman is a great cause because Africans are helped in two ways: they get shoes to wear, and they are given clean drinking water,” assistant coach Kristen Witt said.

History shows that some of the best fundraisers snowball into existence because of competition and this is exactly what happened to the cross-country team. Friday Sept. 9, the Longhorns held a shoe fundraiser for “the Shoeman,” George Hutchings, at their season opening meet, the Parkway Quad.

“I heard Marquette had done something similar, and didn’t want to be outshined by them. So, I decided to encourage our team to do something for a nonprofit as well,” Kati Osborne, mother of team captain Andrew Osborne, said.

Although the need to keep up with the rival school’s achievements planted the idea, this is not the only element of competition involved in the idea.

“We contacted the other three Parkway schools, too, and pitched our idea for a fundraiser to them,” junior Andrew Osborne said. “At the meet, we had a competition between the four schools to see who could gather the most shoes. Needless to say, Parkway West brought the most.”

Even though competition is the reason the project has grown so big, the core goal remains the same as it was in the beginning: to donate shoes to Hutchings and help other third world countries.

“The Shoeman started as a nonprofit organization, and he collects gently used shoes from people in the United States and then sells them to shoe vendors in Africa. He then uses this money to build wells for African people who don’t have access to clean drinking water,” assistant coach Kristen Witt said. “This way, Africans are helped in two ways: they get shoes to wear, and they are given clean drinking water!”

The boys cross-country team hoped to gather 50 pair of shoes at the meet. The girls team, led by junior Maddy Brown, decided to participate in the event as well.

“Because runners need special supportive shoes, we go through a pair of shoes in about six months. This means that most runners have old shoes from past seasons that they do not wear any more. So, we can donate those to the Shoeman,” Brown said.

The teams met their goal, gathering 74 pair of shoes for Hutchings. The cross country teams hope to serve as an inspiration for others to do community outreach activities. The shoe drive is being extended through Sept. 21 so that people who are not affiliated with cross country can donate shoes as well.