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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Two Holmdel Students Help The Needy Due To Transcendentalism


16-year-old Lilly Koch and 15-year-old Irene Gardis are Holmdel High School sophomores who love shoes. Therefore, when these two had to decide on what their service project was going to be for their Honors English class, they naturally went with gathering shoes for Soles 4 Souls. Soles 4 Souls is an international organization which has delivered more than 15 million pairs of shoes in a short span of only five years. These shoes have been donated across 127 countries, which includes the U.S. According to their mission statement, they strive to provide long-term development by using market-based “micro-enterprise programs” that allow poor people in the developing nations to come up with the resources to begin their very own businesses.

These two young ladies and their classmates have studied the American Transcendentalism movement for the past two months in class. Some of the writers in this famous movement include Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The English teacher for the class, Margaret McDonald, wanted her students to come up with a project that would let them develop any talent they may have, and once they did that, they would write about the experience. So far, Koch and Gardis have come up with 100 pairs of shoes. They are still currently accepting more donations.


I think it is great to read stories about today’s youth helping the world. Although I am only about to be 23 years old, it seems that today’s young people are worse than ever. That is why it is so encouraging to read news like this. Margaret McDonald seems like a very good teacher as well. We need more teachers like her.




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