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06/26/2024 08:30 AMMost people who read this article likely own more than one pair of shoes, perhaps many pairs for various occasions. With all the varieties of footwear available, one might think that nearly everyone has access to them in multitude. However, that is not the case for people in numerous developing countries who might not even have one pair to call their own. This is something North Haven High School (NHHS) student Gavin Knauft wanted to help out with through a sneaker drive which he and his fellow Class of 2026 officers recently organized.
“I really want to get the community together to benefit another community, and we thought of some sort of drive,” he says.
Gavin has experience of lending a helping hand to another community, as he volunteers at New Haven Reads book bank. However, when it came to shoes, it was time to think globally.
That led Gavin and his colleagues to begin collaborating with the Recycle Sneaker Project, an organization which collects used sneakers to donate to communities in the Global South.
“It’s a pretty cool system where you order boxes, they send it to your house—price is for free—and then you fill up as many boxes as you can,” says Gavin. “They will send it to impoverished countries to be sold at a cheaper price.”
Gavin says the effort was “addictive…knowing you're helping someone in need.”
This was the biggest fundraiser which Gavin has led as president of the NHHS Class of 2026, and it’s one which he says “definitely had the largest impact on not only our community, but really communities across the world.”
Gavin credits the help of his colleagues for their efforts with the sneaker drive, noting Madison Viveiros, class vice president; Ragav Bharadwaj, class secretary; and his brother Lucas Knauft, class treasurer.
Gavin says they collected 238 pairs of shoes in total within a month from April to May. They set up boxes at the high school, the hospital where Gavin’s dad works, and by reaching out to neighbors, sports teams, classmates, friends, and family.
“I was very happy with how this all turned out,” he says. “My dad would come home with bags of shoes. Every day, my class officers would bring in garbage bags of shoes. Everyone was just so supportive, all of our family friends… It was a really good learning experience.”
Gavin’s favorite part of the entire experience was reaching out to people in the community who donated sneakers and then seeing the results of collecting them from people he did not know, but still offered their generosity for the cause.
“A fun part of it was organizing all the shoes, seeing what we've all accomplished as a group, and putting them on the boxes,” he says.
Gavin sent to The Courier a photograph of him and his brother standing before all the collected shoes in a variety of colors, taking up a chunk of space in his driveway.
“Our entire driveway was lined up with them, filling up all those boxes. I think we had like 11 full boxes,” says Gavin.
The communication aspect of the effort was a major component which taught Gavin about advertising for a cause. This was achieved mostly through digital means.
“What I did was I would send out text messages and emails throughout the school. I was able to go onto video morning announcements,” Gavin says. “I had flyers up around the school, and then we were able to tell my classmates to spread the word.”
“All my class officers, we all work together to branch off into our own areas of where we live,” he continues. “We’d all communicate. A big part of communication, obviously, with each other as class officers, [is] updating each other, saying, ‘OK, I've got this many shoes. OK, here's what we should do. You should talk to your neighbor.’”
Gavin says that being class president has taught him a lot about the responsibility of organization and the difference it can make for a cause.
“As president for two years, I’ve learned from experiences that maybe some fundraisers aren't as successful. It comes down to being organized and having a plan ahead. I felt we, as a team, did that really well,” he says.
Gavin has been class president since his freshman year, seeing it as an opportunity to get to know more people and learn about leadership. Much of what he has learned in that position has carried over into the sneaker project.
“I really want to make a good impact on the community,” says Gavin. “I think it's a great experience. In terms of leadership, communication. You have to work with so many people at such a young age, you’re kind of put in charge, in a sense, of people. I feel like I have a big responsibility. I wanted that sense of responsibility because I really care about my class. I care about this high school. That was a motivation.”
It’s been a big learning experience for Gavin as a result of being in that position. Gavin consistently reflects on his previous efforts and strives to do better each time.
“[You ask], ‘OK, what could I have done better? What could I have said better? How could I have gotten more organized? When should I have done this instead of this month?’ It really comes down to learning from your mistakes and always moving forward,” Gavin says. “You don't have time to stop.”