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A simple birthday wish that lasted 9 years: Chloe Christensen’s Inspiring Journey With Soles4Souls 

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Take a moment to journey back to your eighth birthday and recall what was at the top of your birthday wishlist. A new stuffed animal? A cool video game? Whatever it may have been, chances are, shoe donations did not make the list. However, for Chloe Christensen, this was exactly what she asked for on her eighth birthday.

It all started after she saw an ad on Disney Channel, featuring a young girl collecting shoes for a cause. Inspired by this impactful message, Chloe approached her mom with a heartfelt request – to receive shoe donations instead of traditional presents on her special day.

Energized by the impact and support, after a couple of birthdays dedicated to collecting shoes, Chloe and her family decided to extend their efforts year-round, leading to now. After nine remarkable years of collecting shoes for Soles4Souls, Chloe has been awarded the well-deserved SevenDays Kindness Scholarship in recognition of her dedication to Soles4Souls. 

Over the years, Chloe has collected thousands of shoes for Soles4Souls. Through all her hard work, she shared the most challenging part of this whole process was reaching her first 25,000. “It was my goal for the longest time, and eventually, after a few years, we reached it. Once we started accumulating that many donations, the word began to spread and the donations would just pour in.”

And it didn’t stop there. After dedicating countless hours to collecting shoes, Chloe was able to join Soles4Souls on a global experience to Honduras, giving her the opportunity to see firsthand how all her shoe donations are changing lives through our 4Opportunity program. Similarly, she recalls how life-changing it was for HER to see Soles4Souls’ impact on the families. Chloe experienced her most rewarding moments with Soles4Souls on this trip and takes her lessons from Honduras to her everyday life. 

Now a high school graduate, Chloe will continue to be a part of the Soles4Souls community. As she goes to college, Chloe plans to educate all the people she meets, spreading Soles4Souls’ mission with the hopes of inspiring others to start shoe drives as well. 

As Chloe embarks on this exciting new chapter of her life, we extend our heartfelt congratulations on her graduation and well-deserved scholarship. We are immensely grateful for her unwavering support and the profound impact she has made in the lives of those in need. 

Looking to start your own shoe drive? Click here to learn more.