Beautiful Walls

Tonight we graced the walls of Healing Sensations in Asheville, NC with our Africa art.  Owner and "master soother" (that's my name for her, she practices all sorts of healing therapy that will leave you feeling like you've entered heaven and come home again) and counselor Laura Haas with Red Thread Counseling were so welcoming and excited to get my art on their walls.  I would highly recommend these ladies services if you live in or around Asheville!  Stop by and take a look at our art.

Stone  Ridge  Business Park

at 201 Stone Ridge Blvd

Asheville, NC 28804 

Laura and Donna...two sweet ladies with a heart for Africa.  Laura was even born in Ethiopia, Africa!!

A Kids Thoughts on the Sole Hope shoe

The Good In Everything

It is a constant outlook on life of mine to try to find the good in everything.  Sometimes this is hard, other times it is obvious but at no time, if I've really looked, is the potential for good not there.  Sole Hope is very close to my heart.  It is a journey that started personally but it can't stay that way.  I want Sole Hope to touch lives in Asheville, Africa and other places in impoverished and forgotten communities around the world.  I had the privilege of being asked to do a short interview on the local news this past week which aired yesterday.  Emails flooded our inbox after it aired from people asking how they could get involved and if they could get jobs making shoes with Sole Hope!  This is what Asheville needs and this is what Africa needs.  We will start here and work forward with hopes that God will do immeasurably more than we've ever asked or dreamed.

I don't know how many of you have followed our blog since the beginning, but if you have you'll know that there have been road blocks and hurdles we have had to jump and sometimes crawl over.  It is kind of interesting for me to watch and see who jumps on the bandwagon, how long they stay, and what their reactions are when we feel like all the walls are falling in.  

One of the biggest blessings this year has been the board of directors that has come together to support, encourage and move Sole Hope forward in 2011.  Since I have not had the pleasure of doing this yet, I want to introduce you to them!  I won't go into long explanations of each person, because that could take all day since there is so much to each person I could tell you about...maybe later.  But for now I will at least put a name with a face.  While I was posting these below I was just thinking about all the wonderful things I could say about each person.  Each one has a different set of skills, life and work experience and brings a unique angle to Sole Hope.

Hilary Sias-Board Chair

Patrick Scully- Vice Chair

Alyssa Scully- Committee Chair

Andrew Eremic'- Treasurer

Holly Jones- Board Member

Beth Gaffney- Board Member

 Kyle Jones- Board Member and his wife Lorraine Jones- Committee Member

And last but not least, Pam Lee who is a board member...and for the life of me could not find a picture of her!  She stays undercover.  :)  

And then myself, Asher Collie, Executive Board Chair...you know what I look like. (if you don't, it's OK, you're really not missing anything. ;))

We are still in need of a secretary if that is something you feel called to do and you live in the Asheville area.  You can email us at solehopeafrica@gmail.com for more info.

Thank you to those of you who stand by Sole Hope and continue to spread the word about us!  You can find us on Facebook or Twitter.  Keep coming back to this blog because I have many update for the coming months.  Our trip to Africa in March, (with myself, Holly and Patrick-above-) a shoe class and seminar in Raleigh, NC at the end of February, Elevate classes on shoe making (for those of you wanting to get a job making shoes with Sole Hope...or just want to learn how to make shoes), a vamp cutting party (sounds Halloween-y doesn't it?-it's not!), our book will be coming out soon and sooo much more.  

New Shoes

New shoes.  Have you ever wondered how often a child in a third-world country has heard those two words?  For most of them, never.  I love that Sole Hope gets the opportunity to give hundreds of children the opportunity to have a pair of new shoes.  These shoes are not like Nike, Crocs, Stride Rite or some other brand you might find in your local chain store.  These shoes are 100% hand made and sewn with lots and lots of LOVE!  These shoes are very comfortable, ready for lots of running and playing in the dirt.  The wonderful thing about these shoes is that once one child outgrows their shoe, if the upper is worn out one of the Sole Hope shoe makers can simply take the upper off, sew a new one and reattach it to the sole!  The beautiful thing about this process is it saves money, resources and time!

The Sole Hope shoes seem to always be evolving and becoming better and that is so exciting!  We've made some adjustments you can't really see, but make the shoe so much more comfortable and wearable!

There are a couple more cosmetic changes I would like to make in the near future, but I have word from a picky five year old that these shoes are SUPER comfortable!!!