Ellington Boy Collecting Shoes for Ethiopian Orphanage

When 7-year-old Drew Casella puts his mind to something, big things happen.

Casella, a second grader at Windermere School in Ellington, is collecting gently used shoes to send to an orphanage in Ethiopia.

“Shoes are a big part of my life, I wanted to collect shoes for people who don’t have them,” he said. “I heard stories that some people don’t have any shoes.”

The idea came about when a friend of the family adopted a little girl from Ethiopia and she told stories of people not having shoes.

“So I said maybe I could do something for them,” Casella said. “So I said to myself, ‘I’m going to start collecting shoes.’”

Right now, there are Drew’s Shoes collection boxes at Windermere School and Scotty’s Kiddy Korner, and one will also be placed at Casey's Cafe. Casella made it very clear that if a business or other entity would like a box, he will make them one.

Free Daily Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter

Many pairs of shoes have already been collected and Casella has written to Nike to see if he can get more. He said that the shoes can be broken down and recycled, so they don’t have to be children’s shoes. He wanted everyone – even people who don’t have kids or the small shoes that come with them – to know that they are welcome to donate shoes if they would like.

When asked how long he was going to collect for, Casella said that he won’t stop for a long time. He said that even if he sends some shoes over to Ethiopia, the boxes will remain, and therefore the collection will continue.

Casella’s mother, Jennifer, said that this spirit of giving really began last year on his birthday.

“He said, ‘I don’t really want all these presents, mom. Let’s give them away,’” she said. She added that every year, the family does a household cleaning where they wrap up toys they don’t play with and takes them to the Good Will.

“Just from doing that, I think that’s kind of where this is coming from,” she said.

After Christmas, he got really serious about the shoes and Jennifer began coordinating with the orphanage in Ethiopia.

Casella said that maybe at some point in his life, he’ll collect clothes, or build houses for people in need.

“I’ll do anything that they want me to,” he said. “I’m going to try to change the world when I’m older.”

Casella said that he likes shoes, but can’t have a lot of them.

“It’s not always about me,” he said. “It can’t be, sometimes it’s about other people. Sometimes you have to fix their lives if you could.”

His mother then told him that he’s an old soul who is wise beyond his years.

“I don’t care what I am,” he said. “All that I want to do is do something to help.”

To find out more about Drew’s Shoes, check out the Facebook page and Web site.