At Ridge Park and Conshohocken Elementary Schools, old sneakers can help families with children battling pediatric cancer

Throughout the Colonial School District, families have rummaged through their closets for old and outgrown sneakers that their children can take to school for “Dunk Your Kicks.” “I want to help other people,” said Conshohocken Elementary (CE) student Mariah Green. “Some people don’t have what you have. You can’t waste stuff. Those people will be happy to get it.” Two hundred million pairs of sneakers head to landfills each year in the United States, while hundreds of millions of people across the globe walk barefoot. The Max Cure Foundation’s Dunk Your Kicks campaign calls for the collection of used sneakers, which are given to an international recycler of used clothing. The recycler resells the shoes as affordable footwear in developing nations. “We’re donating to people who don’t have shoes,” said Gia Montanez, a student at CE. “It makes me feel good.” The Max Cure Foundation receives up to $1 per pair of shoes and, in return, distributes that money in the form of gift cards to low-income and military families who have children battling pediatric cancer. Since it started in November 2011, the Max Cure Foundation has helped more than 100 families in 17 states.