Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA held a barefoot walk to raise awareness and collect shoes for donation

Residents hoping to raise awareness about global poverty wanted to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes Tuesday — so they went barefoot.

About 100 walkers made the trek from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA to the Chapel Hill police station and back, a mile-long round trip, as part of the “One Day Without Shoes” event created by TOMS shoes.

“We are trying to raise awareness about kids who don’t have shoes,” said Sarah Wright, a member of the Leaders’ Club at the YMCA.

And participants took the event one step further, collecting shoes in a drive that began on March 19 and ended Tuesday.

“Most of them will go to an organization called (People to People) Africa and they use the shoes to really build the sustainable community,” said Whitney Kahn, senior program director at the YMCA.

Organizer Molly Frank said the event emphasized the negative effects of going without shoes, which include an inability to attend school.

“Because they don’t have shoes, they can be denied the chance to go to school,” Frank said.

She said those without shoes can also be susceptible to diseases, since they lack basic protection.

Kahn said that this is the second year the event has taken place in Chapel Hill, and the biggest change is the amount of donations. She said shoe donations jumped from 600 last year to an expected 800 this year.

Before the walk, children learned about the poverty that occurs in some other countries at a carnival at the YMCA. Speakers at the event presented on problems in undeveloped nations that extend far beyond walking shoeless.

“We have a great community of people who are willing to put their time and effort toward a greater cause,” said Shaunak Turaga, another organizer.

Students from UNC’s A Drink for Tomorrow told children at the event how difficult it is for people in some nations to access water.

“A lot of the people who are getting water are kids not much older than themselves,” said Kyle Villemain, a UNC freshman.

The carnival also featured games, including barefoot soccer and bowling, and an “experience walk” tied it back to the events purpose.

The walk gave children a chance to walk barefoot on surfaces like sand and gravel to see what life is like for those with no shoes.

“I thought it must be hard for the children who don’t have shoes to walk through that everyday,” said Harper Baer, a 7-year-old participant.

Wright said that the major goal behind the event was to raise awareness about poverty in other countries and what people can do to help.

“People really don’t know what’s going on if its not in our backyard,” Wright said. “If no one knows about it, then no on can step up.”

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.