By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of new experiences for Elvin Hill Elementary School fifth grader Allyson Partridge since she launched a project to benefit children and teens in need overseas.

Partridge, 10, is leading efforts to collect new and gently used shoes and Bibles through Shoes OverSeas, a project she started at her school to help those at an orphanage and school in Kenya.

The idea for the project came to Allyson as she watched a show on the Disney Channel several years ago. A character on the show claimed to have too many shoes, a problem with which Partridge said she was familiar.

“I figured I would do something because I had too many shoes,” she said.

Partridge’s idea of donating her shoes eventually became the focus of a research project in her Gifted Education class at school.

Partridge’s GRC teacher, Martha Bentley, had challenged each student in the class to choose a topic to research that would ultimately benefit others.

After making little progress with her first topic of inventions, Partridge switched gears and began studying poverty, which led her to the formation of SOS.

Partridge knew she wanted to collect shoes, and decided to broaden the scope of the project to include a Bible with each pair donated to someone in Kenya.

She researched and contacted several organizations she thought might be able to partner with her in the project before discovering Kenya Relief, and finding it to be a perfect fit with the SOS mission.

Partridge and her father, Justin Partridge, met with Kenya Relief Executive Director Steve James and his administration about two weeks ago to learn more about the organization, which is based in Cullman, and to discuss its involvement in SOS.

“They were really excited,” Justin said.

Kenya Relief will distribute the shoes and Bibles collected through SOS to those in need in the organization’s orphanage and school in Kenya, saving Allyson the expense of shipping the shoes to Kenya herself.

All Allyson has to do is carry the shoes and Bibles she collects to the Kenya Relief headquarters in Cullman.

As of March 2, Partridge had collected between 60-80 pairs of shoes and more than 100 Bibles.

Elvin Hill Elementary is currently a drop-off location, but Allyson said she would reach out to area churches in case any could serve as drop-off locations too.

The deadline to drop off shoe and Bible donations at the school is March 18. The church and business collection deadline is March 25.

Sanctuary Christian Books in Pelham will serve as a drop-off zone for shoes and Bibles from March 22-25.

Allyson made posters to display throughout her school with information about the SOS project and the number of days left to donate.

Shoes can range in size for children 3 years old through college-age students.

Allyson said her goal is to collect 500 shoes and Bibles.

“I have a feeling she may end up with more shoes than she knows what to do with,” Justin said. “This all happened so fast.”

Monetary donations are accepted online at KenyaRelief.org for the Shoes OverSeas (SOS) program and will assist with freight cost, packaging and more.

Those making online donations should indicate “Shoes OverSeas SOS” in the box.

Allyson’s SOS project has helped her overcome anxiety related to public speaking by opening doors to numerous speaking opportunities at school, in professional interviews, on the radio and at church.

“I have seen that growth,” Bentley said. “To me, it’s just really been a joy to see.”

For more information about Shoes OverSeas, visit Facebook.com/Shoesoverseas.