By Daniel Human
It takes a pretty large shoe to dwarf a size-22 sneaker.
But the golden Goliath featured on the trophy for the Walk a Mile in My Shoes event is minuscule compared to the Kokomo Rescue Mission’s latest investment for the fundraiser — 6-foot-long black and hot pink high tops.
Bebe Dorris, the mission’s director of development, said the nonprofit bought three of the shoes to promote the annual one-mile walk for the mission’s Open Arms shelter for homeless women and children.
“Actually, we have talked about ‘What if we had a big shoe?’ since the beginning of the walk nine years ago,” she said.
Some of the mission’s staff traveled to Indianapolis where they found three available shoes that the city featured in tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament.
The mission has kept one of the shoes. St. Joseph Hospital, which is a “diamond sponsor” for the mission, has another. The third will travel among other Walk a Mile fundraisers, Dorris said.
The intention, she said, is for the three high tops to raise awareness about the walk, which is Feb. 13. The walk begins at 8 a.m. at the Kokomo Rescue Mission and takes participants through the streets of downtown Kokomo to Open Arms. The brief trek not only raises money for the shelter but also awareness for its mission by giving participants a glimpse at what homeless residents go through on a daily basis.
About 60 teams, most with between 10 and 15 members, have signed up as of last week. Teams can have up to 20 participants.
Walkers raise at least $50 each. The mission gives the Golden Sneaker Trophy to the team that raises the most money. Zion Tabernacle won the mounted size-22 shoe last year after it raised more than $4,200.
The walk raised $79,000 last year, which was just shy of the $80,000 goal. Overall, the walk has raised about $412,000.
The mission has set the same $80,000 goal for this year’s event.
The money covers about a third of Open Arms’ operating costs for the year, Dorris said.
For more information about the event, call the rescue mission at 765-456-3838 or visit www.kokomorescuemission.org.
• Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.
