wfn.org | Shoe Soul Ministry Helps Kids

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
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Note 551 by UMNS on Jan. 16, 1998 at 17:03 Eastern (3477 characters).

CONTACT: Thomas S. McAnally				24(10-21-71B){551}
	    Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	Jan. 16, 1998

NOTE: A photo is available with this story.

Shoe Soul Ministry provides 
new footwear for needy children

A UMNS Feature
by Cathy Farmer*

	When Betty Haugen was 4 years old, her parents couldn’t afford shoes. 
	"It was the Depression," Haugen said, "a difficult time for my family. My
daddy got sick with smallpox and our whole family was quarantined for six
weeks. He lost his job because he couldn’t go to work."
	Haugen remembers that she wasn’t able to go to church because she didn’t have
shoes.
	"My uncle was a doctor in town, and even though he didn’t have much money
either, he managed to scrape together a couple of dollars to buy me some. I
was so excited."
	The very next weekend, Betty went to Sunday School.
	"My mother told me not to tell everyone I hadn’t been to Sunday School
because I didn’t have any shoes -- but of course I did. I was only 4 years
old."
	When Betty got home, still admiring her wonderful new shoes, she saw her
father lining his cracked old shoes with cardboard.
	"Looking for a job, he had to walk all over town," she said.
	Four-year-old Betty sat down beside her daddy, took off her shoes and offered
them to him to wear.
	"He was such a proud, strong man," she said. "I can still remember him
crying."
	Today, Betty Haugen is the Paris (Tenn.) District president of United
Methodist Women. But she’s never forgotten the hard times she lived through.
The memory of those shoes and what they meant in her young life led her to
start the Shoe Soul Ministry.
	"Many of our Paris District units are buying new shoes for children who haven
t had any," she said. "So many of the women in our churches remember living
through hard times; they want to help the children of today. We have many
disadvantaged children living right here in our own area.
	"We don’t want them to have to wear hand-me-down shoes."
	With a small chuckle, Haugen added, "I suppose you know that United Methodist
Women are very careful about how we spend our money. We aren’t planning to buy
designer shoes for the kids; just good, serviceable, new shoes.
	"For instance, there’s a high school band member who’s been wearing scruffy
shoes because his parents couldn’t afford to buy him band shoes. Well, we got
him the black band shoes he needed to march in the parades."
	The Shoe Soul Ministry of the Paris District is operated anonymously. In some
cases, the money is donated to an organization like Head Start. The Head Start
administrators purchase the shoes and give them to the needy children. 
	Some of the units gave Shoe Soul money to the Rev. Roger Hopson, Paris
District superintendent. Hopson used the money to buy shoes for children in
the neighborhood surrounding his district office.
	"The UMW gave my office about $600 to buy shoes," Hopson said. "I’ve added
some district money to it as well. We’ve purchased shoes for transients coming
through town, for neighborhood children, and for a couple of college
students."
	Hopson said that teachers in Paris schools are aware of the fund and have
been applying to him when children in their classes need help.
	"We hope the Shoe Soul Ministry gathers steam and really makes a difference,"
said Haugen. "This is a way for us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus."
#  #  #
	*Farmer is communications director for the Memphis Conference of the United
Methodist Church.
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