Bare feet on hot sand called Moriah Price into action.
"I recently heard of a group of people in Iraq who are so in need they don't have any shoes to wear," Price, 11, of Bellevue, said.
The Wood River Middle School seventh-grade student organized a shoe drive entitled "Operation Shoebox Express" to collect tennis shoes. The shoes are intended for Iranian refugees and villagers in Iraq.
"Since I knew we were here with tons of money and shoes, I thought maybe we could do something to help. Give the people a gift. We have so much and they have only a few things," Price said.
Inspiration to help others arrived after a conversation with her grandfather, who is with a military unit stationed in Vilsek, Germany. From their conversation, Price learned that refugees and Iraqi citizens need shoes to protect their feet from the scalding sand.
"We have plenty of shoes to share with them. We have the money, the shoes and the resources to be able to provide for them," she said.
"Operation Shoebox Express" grew from Price's desire to provide shoes for others.
She constructed and decorated cardboard collection boxes. This week she placed boxes at Wood River Middle School, Albertson's in Hailey and Atkinsons' Valley Market in Bellevue to collect shoes. Ten pairs of shoes had been placed in the box at the middle school as of Wednesday, May 4.
Price is working to increase awareness of her project by appearing on school news broadcasts. She also invited her class to help with the collection effort.
She hopes to collect 100 pairs of shoes by the end of May. She plans to send the shoes to her grandfather, who will coordinate the delivery to Iraq.
"I want to collect as many as I can. I want to be able to send them to both the village and to those seeking asylum," she said.
Shoe donations can be made at Wood River Middle School, Albertson's in Hailey and Atkinsons' Valley Market in Bellevue.
Moriah Price plans to donate the shoes collected through "Operation Shoebox Express" to Iranian refugees and Iraqi citizens.
