After months of planning by selfless souls in Auburn and across the country, the "One Million Soles" project will kickoff Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Family Life Center of Great Peace Missionary Baptist Church in Opelika.
Developed by the Rev. Clifford Jones of Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church, Don-Terry Veal, director of the Center of Governmental Services at Auburn and Arturo Menefee, president of the Greater Peace Community Development Corporation, "One Million Soles" is aimed at raising money needed to manufacture one million pairs of shoes for the people of Haiti.
For $10, one pair of shoes can be manufactured and sent to the men, women and children in Haiti who are without access to proper-fitting shoes.
The project will run approximately four months, during which time donations can be made directly into the "One Million Soles" account at Wells Fargo in Auburn.
Production of the shoes by a manufacturer in China will begin after a quarter of the money is collected.
"We need as many people as possible to make a contribution," Jones said.
Donations can be made immediately following Thursday's kick-off in which Jones, Veal and Menefee will be in attendance, as well as other supporters of the project from across the country. Jones said a former mayor from Haiti will also be attending the kickoff.
During their visit to Haiti in March 2010, Jones and Veal witnessed the devastation suffered by the country as a result of the massive earthquake which occurred Jan. 10, 2010.
"When a community experiences trauma like that, you can see it will take years to turn everything around," Veal said. "Our effort was to provide basic support in small ways."
Jones said the conditions in the country following the earthquake were beyond his imagination, as a number of houses were destroyed and a large number of streets were made impassible by the earthquake.
"The devastation was heart wrenching," Jones said.
Jones said he noticed many people did not have access to shoes or were forced to wear pairs that were ill-fitting or severely worn. With the rough terrain and the spread of floor-borne diseases, Jones said it is crucial that these people have such an important essential item.
Within six months after returning from Haiti, Jones and Veal began formulating the idea for "One Million Soles."
Jones said he plans to return to Haiti to assist in the delivery of the shoes. He also said there are several contacts in support of the project living in Haiti to ensure the shoes are given to the people they are targeted toward and not put on the black market.
As a native of New Orleans, Veal said it is clear to him that there can never be enough charitable support for a community in the aftermath of a disaster.
"It's important to make a difference in a small way," Veal said. "We're doing that by putting shoes on the feet of the people in Haiti."
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