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Students At The Harbour School And The Chesapeake Foot And Ankle Center Make Unlikely, But Inspirational, Pair

School for students with learning disabilities complete project with The Chesapeake Foot and Ankle Center to support worldwide charity

Annapolis, MD (June 8, 2009) -- Many people would not consider a group of students with learning disabilities and podiatrists a typical duo. However, after joining forces for the Soles4Souls charity organization, the two found that shoes were not the only things that matched well when paired together.

Soles4Souls is a charity organization which donates shoes to those in need all across the globe. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, the organization was able to raise and distribute one million shoes to those devastated by the disaster. The Chesapeake Foot and Ankle Center acts as one of many donation centers in the United States where shoes can be donated and then shipped to the Soles4Souls headquarters in Nashville and then later dispersed.

Over the course of two months, The Harbour School collected 187 pairs of shoes to be added to The Chesapeake Foot and Ankle Center's growing collection in their Pasadena office.

The Harbour School, with campuses in Annapolis and Owings Mills, specializes in children with learning disabilities, autism, speech language impairments, and other disabilities like ADD/ADHD in grades one through twelve. The school became involved in the charity project after Janet Spain, an administrator with the school, noticed a Soles4Souls advertisement in a national magazine. Upon further investigation she found an Anne Arundel County connection in The Chesapeake Foot and Ankle Center.

The school's shoe drive started in April with a class of seven students and two teachers decorating large boxes to be placed in the school and around the community. The collection boxes were placed in The Harbour School, at a local Curves woman's exercise center and inside a nearby church.

Diane Hardesty of The Harbour School recalls finding out the total number of shoes collected as one of the most memorable moments of the campaign. "I was so surprised at the total," she said. "Just the magnitude of that number was overwhelming. I realized later that those shoes would be enough to outfit our whole high school."

Dr. Ira Gottlieb of The Chesapeake Foot and Ankle Center agrees that the total amount of shoes collected was beyond his expectations. "It really proved to me what the human spirit can do when put towards a good cause. The energy and enthusiasm that their students brought to this project was a source of inspiration."

Soles4Souls is a non-profit organization recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Call The Chesapeake Foot and Ankle Center at 410-768-5800 for additional information about the donation program.