by Lauren McGuire, Student Public Relations Writer
A group of Cedarville University nursing students will partner with Shoes 4 the Shoeless, a nonprofit ministry that distributes new shoes and socks to children, at the Greene County Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 37 in Xenia, Ohio, on December 11. The nursing students will arrive at 8:30 a.m. and work with the children until 11:30 a.m.
Shoes 4 the Shoeless will distribute shoes to area children at a police station for the first time; past shoe fittings took place at area elementary schools.
Several police officers will pick up children from surrounding schools so the children have the opportunity to ride in a police car. The children will then be greeted at the police station by a marching band and a Christmas chorus from a local elementary school.
— Cliff Fawcett
Shoes 4 the Shoeless volunteers will take off the children’s shoes and socks, measure their feet and give them a brand-new pair of socks. The children can then pick a pair of shoes that is their favorite color and volunteers will make sure the pair fits correctly.
“A lot of kids will come in and they will be wearing a size six but when we measure their foot, they’re really an eight,” Cliff Fawcett, nurse practitioner for University Medical Services (UMS) and assistant professor of nursing said. “It’s an amazing program because the kids get a pair of shoes they actually want, not just any pair of shoes.”
Fawcett will accompany Cedarville nursing students to the FOP.
Nursing students from Cedarville partner with Shoes 4 the Shoeless in several ways. On November 16, the students, along with Fawcett and Nate Kincaid, assistant professor of nursing, took part in a walkathon at the Dayton Mall to raise nearly $1,000 for the ministry. Nursing students also volunteer their time at events like the shoe fitting at the police station and at local Springfield elementary schools. Located in southwest Ohio,
Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,380 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.