Tauranga teenager Teri Dawson helps give shoes to kids in need

Aquinas College student Teri Dawson has been collecting shoes with other students to give to Tauranga kids without them. Bellevue Primary School students got to choose a pair. Photo / John Borren

Teri Dawson does not have much spare time these days - she's busy focusing on her latest community project.

The 16-year-old Aquinas College student is the brains behind a community initiative called Shoes for Feet which involves collecting old shoes from families and giving them to children in need.

"I want every primary school kid to have a pair of shoes," said Ms Dawson.

The teenager has been involved in helping the community for most of her life, including being a part of the Omanu beach surf lifesaving club.

The idea for the Shoes for Feet programme came about when Ms Dawson was helping in another community project, where she delivers food to families in need.

"I kept seeing so many kids without shoes, I just thought surely we can do something about this."

She brought up the idea of finding shoes for kids in need at a Young Vinnies meeting, a group that finds solutions to community issues, and the idea took off from there.

More than 50 pairs of shoes had already been donated from families at St Mary's School which would be rehomed in the Shoes for Feet project.

The new project had donated 15 pairs of shoes to students at Brookfield and Bellevue schools yesterday and Ms Dawson hopes to approach more schools in the Tauranga area.

Bellevue School deputy principal Pam Seath said the initiative not only provided her students with new footwear but it was also an opportunity for her kids to see the work older students were doing for others.

"I see some kids come to school without shoes or wearing their older sibling's shoes that are too big, so this is fantastic," she said.

The Shoes for Feet programme is looking for more donations of shoes. If you're keen to help, contact the Vinnies support centre on (07) 578 3814