WESTMINSTER : Students Take Steps to Help the Homeless

The back of the Villicanas’ pickup truck resembles a disorganized shoe store, but the family doesn’t mind the inconvenience.

In the truck bed are more than 200 pairs of old shoes of various styles, shapes and sizes. There are sneakers, high heels, slippers and even a pair of disco platform shoes. All will be repaired and given to the homeless.

The shoes were donated by students at Westminster High School who were persuaded to part with their footwear by a group of student leaders, led by Angelica Villicana, 18.

“I thought it would be a good way of getting students involved in helping other people,” Villicana said. “It’s an easy way to help other people, and everybody has old shoes they don’t want any more.”

The shoes will be given to the Wagner Institute, a nonprofit organization in Whittier that addresses the needs of people with foot and ankle disorders. The institute will repair and clean the shoes and distribute them to homeless people in Orange and Los Angeles counties, said Villicana, who is student body treasurer at Westminster High School.

“We’re ready for them,” said Dr. Lance Weaver, who leads the project at the institute. “For us, it’s very unique to have high school kids participating like this. I think it’s great that they are showing civic concern for one of the biggest and most outrageous situations in this country.”

Villicana said she wanted to organize a community project before graduating in June. She decided to collect shoes after seeing a similar effort at Rockwell International in Downey, where her mother works. Those shoes will also be distributed by the Wagner Institute.

She enlisted the help of six other student council members, who placed collection boxes throughout the school. Committee member Lisa Dutro said she was shocked when she saw the boxes overflowing with shoes.

“We got so many shoes,” Dutro said. “Some were new and some were gross, real dirty. But they are all in pretty good shape and will look even better once they’re cleaned up.”

Jorgia Rainbolt, another committee member, said it wasn’t the condition of some of the shoes that left an impression on her, but the off-beat styles.

“There were shoes I wouldn’t be caught dead in,” said Jorgia, 17. “We got some of the weirdest shoes you’ve ever seen. Although most of the shoes were tennis shoes, we also got high heels, a pair of Cabbage Patch slippers and a pair of disco shoes with platforms.”

Villicana said most of the shoes were in pretty good condition. A few students even sacrificed a used pair of Reeboks or Nikes.

The group will be delivering the first 200 pairs to the Wagner Institute today. But they say their job is not over yet. They want to start yet another drive at the end of the month.

“We want people to realize that we do care about our community and the people in it,” Villicana said. “We have good ideas but don’t always know how to voice them. This has shown me that I should voice how I feel about things and try to make things better.”