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Teens give back through Austintown event
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Three Jackson-Milton area teenagers recently chose Austintown Township Park as their home base for a "Style Your Sole" charity event on July 30. Amanda Moore (left), Brooke Bigelow, and Rachael Jenkins bought over $3000 worth of Tom's Shoes, a company that donates one pair of shoes to a child in need for each pair of shoes they sell.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .After finishing their works of wearable art, guests Tasha Lorent (left) and Graham Kirk stood up to try out their new shoes.
By SARAH FOOR
Jackson-Milton juniors Amanda Moore, Brooke Bigelow and Rachael Jenkins spend their school year volunteering together in their school’s Key Club, and this summer, they didn’t want their good deeds to stop.
After months of preparation, they hosted a day for art, music, and charity during their “Style Your Sole” event at Austintown Township Park on July 30.
Moore, Bigelow, and Jenkins said that finding the perfect event to sponsor and support was a labor of love.
“We wanted a positive event that could really bring different members of the community together,” Jenkins explained.
The juniors soon found TOM’s Shoes, a company that donates a pair of their own shoes to a child in need for every pair that is purchased by a customer. For their “Style Your Sole” event, more than 100 friends from Poland, Boardman, Canfield, North Jackson and Austintown bought a plain pair of TOM’s loafers to decorate with markers, paints and glitter at Austintown Township Park.
“We raised over $3,000 for TOM’s and were honored to donate that to the company. The good doesn’t end today, the giving just keeps continuing after this,” added Bigelow.
The five months of planning the girls invested in the event led to an enjoyable day of creativity. Local bands Neon Avenue and Saints for Sailors entertained the shoe artists at the event. The sole stylers included everyone from newbie artists still attending elementary school to the tattooists from Black Heart Tattoo Studio in Austintown.
From images of Pac-Man to brightly-colored robots and song lyrics, the shoes were a canvas for each guest’s vision.
“We hope the legacy of today is that we inspire other kids our age to get involved in something bigger than themselves. For us, this was a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it,” said Amanda Moore.