It's been a few months and already your child's shoes are starting to
                                             pinch.

                                             Rather than sigh as you plunk the practically new shoes in the trash,
                                             Mayor Ellen O. Moyer has a better idea.

                                             Next week in honor of Valentine's Day, she will kick off the "Heart and
                                             Sole" shoe drive by placing a box in City Hall for people to donate their
                                             used or new shoes to needy children in Afghanistan. She has asked
                                             principals at Annapolis-area elementary and middle schools to do the
                                             same.

                                             At the end of the week, she plans to give the shoes to a non-profit group
                                             that delivers supplies to the war-torn country.

                                             She is also asking the children who donate their shoes to attach a
                                             valentine or message to the shoe addressed to the recipient.

                                             "Young people need to learn the importance of charity as well, and that
                                             the children of Afghanistan are victims, too," she said.

                                             The shoe drive is the first program in what Ms. Moyer hopes will be an
                                             annual "kids giving to kids" event. She hopes the program will eventually
                                             fall under the Annapolis Foundation, a non-profit foundation the city
                                             began setting up two weeks ago.

                                             Acting City Administrator Dave Stahl said the foundation will use the
                                             tax-deductible donation money to run programs for children and seniors
                                             such as "Heart and Sole" as well as award college scholarships.

                                             "That's our first commitment, to give scholarships to students in
                                             Annapolis public housing who would like to go to Anne Arundel
                                             Community College but can't afford it," Mr. Stahl said. "The foundation
                                             will be a way for the city to do certain projects that aren't appropriate
                                             for coming out out of the budget.

                                             "It will also be a way for more affluent people who want to make a
                                             tax-deductible donation to give back to the community," he said.

                                             Mr. Stahl said he plans to set up a foundation board of directors who
                                             would decide how to spend the donated money.

                                             Ms. Moyer said the idea for the "Heart and Sole" program came from a
                                             brainstorming session with some friends and city residents on what they
                                             can do to help others.

                                             "(Annapolis resident) Jack Sheehan pointed out that it was winter time in
                                             Afghanistan and that there were children without shoes," she said. "And
                                             as a mother and grandmother, I have a particular appreciation for how
                                             fast youngsters outgrow their shoes."

                                             Published February 08, 2002, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
                                             Copyright © 2002 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.