Why I Started From Hearts to Soles

Ever since I was a little kid, I found joy in the world of footwear. I loved looking at different shoes in stores like Footlocker, Nike, Adidas, and a variety of other places. I spent many hours in middle school designing different colorways of the shoes I liked, and I excitedly showed the designs to all my friends and family. Growing up in a time where sneaker culture was so prevalent accentuated my passion for footwear, made shoes the centerpiece of many of my outfits, and even made my shoes a defining part of my self-image.

As I entered high school, matured, and learned more about the importance of serving my community, I decided early in my freshman year that I would to start some sort of community outreach organization. There were a lot of things I liked doing that helped my community, such as tutoring underprivileged children and playing soccer with disabled children, and there were many international political issues that I was passionate about. These include the refugee crisis and war in the Middle East, children being locked in cages in my own state of Arizona, and President Trump's tough and inhumane stance on refugee immigration as a whole. Still, I never conceptualized that all my interests put together could actually constitute the mission of a community outreach organization. This was until one day when I visited my family in Iran, and we all went outside to take a walk.

As we walked around the less affluent parts of Tehran, Iran's capital city, I realized that many children, particularly those who were working, had no shoes. Their feet were scraped, scarred, and dirty from the rough roads. At this moment, I started thinking about doing a fundraiser to help, but I realized that was a very temporary and futile solution to this issue. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to start an organization to help these people. I knew that this was how I wanted to serve the community. The idea was perfect; it aligns completely with the political issues I am passionate about, my love for footwear, and my morals. Most importantly, it was something I wanted to do to better the world.