H.E.A.R.T. Organization kicks off Dollars for Hope campaign

ALBANY — Each year, Albany’s H.E.A.R.T. Organization presents hundreds of area underprivileged school children with proper-fitting athletic shoes as part of it’s Shoes from the H.E.A.R.T. campaign, which is made possible by the donations the nonprofit receives through it’s Dollars for Hope campaign.

That campaign, which last year led to H.E.A.R.T. (Hands Extended Across Reaching Together) presenting 400 pairs of shoes to students at several Dougherty County elementary schools, kicks off today with the goal of raising enough money to put 800 pairs of new shoes on some deserving feet during December distribution.

Since 2009, H.E.A.R.T. has donated more than 3,200 pairs of shoes to Dougherty County school children, and the organization indicates that it still has a long way to go. According to an organization press release, there are more than 450 children in each of the county’s 14 elementary schools, and statistics indicate that 81 percent of those are economically disadvantaged.

“We do a lot of things to bring awareness to the fact that there is a huge need in Dougherty County in terms of helping our children,” said the H.E.A.R.T. organization’s Anne Johnson Milledge about the start of the Shoes from the H.E.A.R.T. campaign. “We have always been an organization that people can turn to when there’s a need, but we wanted to do something that was proactive and sustainable.”

In addition to making sure children have appropriate shoes to perform physical activity, the Shoes from the H.E.A.R.T. campaign also helps improve self-esteem and self-confidence, encourage participation, promote leadership, discipline, good citizenship and good sportsmanship, as well as improve student attendance.

Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible donation can send a check or money order to H.E.A.R.T. Organization Inc., P.O. Box 4433, Albany, Ga. 31706 or visit heartcares.org.