Unworn and gently used shoes to go to 2 charities

On December 4 NECC sent students and faculty an email making them aware of NECC’s sponsorship of the YWCA Northeastern Massachusetts’ Shoes with Heart campaign. Starting December 5 through January 31 people are encouraged to donate their gently worn or new shoes by placing them in boxes found on both the Haverhill and Lawrence campus. For Haverhill, the locations will be in the lobby of the sports and fitness center and on the second floor of the Spurk building just outside the college bookstore. For Lawrence, the locations will be in the lobby of El Hefni and on the third floor of Riverwalk near the public safety desk.

Shoes with Heart is owned by Funds2Orgs., an organization that collects the shoes from their partners where they are then bulked and shipped to 25 developing countries around the world and resold through micro-enterprises owned by people living in poverty. The details in the email explain that the main focus of the shoe drive is,“…a hands on curriculum project for the YWCA school age program children teaching them about world poverty, charitable giving and micro business.” The children will help collect the shoes.

With events like #GivingTuesday, traditionally the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and in full swing of December “the high point of the year for charitable donations, in part due to the holiday spirit of giving.” Says Jessica Sillers, the blog author of 10 things to know before you donate. Jessica also highlights that people should research the organizations that are looking for donations and understand what they are doing with those donations.

The YWCA shoe drive contributes to two different organizations. The first being Funds2Orgs that receive payment for selling the shoes to “micro-entrepreneurs [that] purchase the shoes for pennies on the dollar, often on credit, and clean the shoes. They then sell the shoes in their communities for a profit,” according to Shoes with Heart. Funds2Orgs operates in Latin America, West Africa, Haiti and other peripheral nations. The second organization is the YWCA and depending on the weight of the shoes will receive a check from Shoes with Heart. The YWCA mission statement is “dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” The YWCA Northeastern Massachusetts division includes Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn and a summer camp located in Salem NH.

They provide emergency shelter for low income women, domestic violence and sexual assault help services and have a 24 hour rape crisis hotline.  The details in the NECC email also highlight the environmental impact of throwing away the “over 600 million pairs of shoes” a number they say belongs to the U.S. yearly. Another number that belongs ‘solely’ to the U.S. is 21.2 billion, the number of shoes imported to the U.S per year according to sourcingjournal.com. “Not everyone has money to spare, but most have at least one pair of shoes they can part with.” Says Wayne Elsey, CEO of Funds2Orgs.

Program opens up MFA to Northern Essex Students

In September of 2018, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston received funding from Liz and Bob Pozen in part to fund the Pozen Community College Access Program.  This program allows 15 community colleges including NECC free access to the MFA for a possible two years. “As long as [Liz and Bob] keep donating, it will be available,” says Laura Mondt instructor and research librarian at the Haverhill campus. Students will have access to the galleries and special exhibitions including other perks such as a 10 percent discount in the museum shops and discounted tickets to special lectures and film screenings.

Dalia Habib Linssen, head of academic engagement at the MFA says “the MFA offers college students the unique opportunity to learn from artworks that span a range of cultures and time periods from ancient to contemporary.” Mondt says that students only “need to have a current student ID” to be admitted. They do not need to get any special passes from the library before hand. Students should make sure they have the current semester sticker on the back of their ID.  If a student is already registered for spring classes they can receive a new sticker at the Student One Stop Center.  Currently, the MFA is showing the Winnie-the-Pooh exhibit until January 6.

[pullquote]

Students will have access to the galleries and special exhibitions

[/pullquote]

According to the MFA website this exhibit requires a patron to buy tickets online for a time slot to view to the exhibit. The MFA did not respond to clarifying if a student with a free pass would be allowed to view that exhibit or if “buying” a ticket, only meant reserving a spot.  But, with over 450,000 objects to view there is plenty to experience without seeing all of the special exhibits.  Linssen says, “I’ve found that getting out of the classroom to teach from original works of art sparks student’s curiosity.”

Liz Kelner Pozen, a psychoanalyst with degrees in social work, social anthropology and cultural anthropology is part of the Pozen donation. Liz is also an artist and poet, her work has been showcased across multiple states and although she could not be reached for comment, her husband Robert C.Pozen says of why they donated such a generous gift: “The strategic plan of the MFA says it wants to encourage visitors by young adults in the greater Boston area. So funding free MFA visits by students at community colleges seemed like an effective way to achieve this goal.

Robert Pozen is currently a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, former president of Fidelity Investments and he often writes for the Financial Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

For more information about this program, select Museum of Fine Arts Institutional Pass Program from the NECC library page. Also, refer to the MFA for updated information.