Airman's Council turns shoes into clean water

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Aja Heiden
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Members of the 482nd Airman's Council gathered together on base for Air Force reservist and active duty members to collect shoes for more than just feet, Nov.7.

The WaterStep Training and Technology to Heal a Thirsty World shoe drive helps provide impoverished countries with clean water.

Senior Airman Keyace Sims, treasurer for Airman's Council, said the mission for the shoe drive is "cleaner water overseas," Each pair of shoes donated equates to money that can be used toward clean water."

Senior Airman Rodane Williams, acting president and vice president for the 482nd Airman's Council said the organization sells the shoes as "resources so that they can purchase the water pumps."

The process of converting the donated shoes into water begins with WaterStep selling the donated shoes to other countries for a profit. Those other countries will then re-sale the shoes for a small price, thus affording those in third world countries access to adequate footwear. WaterStep then buys water pumps to distribute with the proceeds.

The Airman's Council started collecting shoes two months ago, starting in September and continuing on through November. In that time frame over 500 pairs of shoes were collected from donations, according to Sims. Points of contact for donations were located in every squadron on base. Completing the shoe drive with the most donations was the medical squadron.

As for the active duty members who participated in the shoe drive "they are essentially a part of the Airman's Council," said Sims"

"Our next event will be Airmen's Revenge. That's going to be an outdoor event with pie in the face and water balloons," said Sims. "It is a family fun day that should be coming in a few months."

Recently the Airman's Council successfully hosted a Thanksgiving event that provided dinner to Airmen that were not able to go home during the holiday.

"We catered the event and had a lot of help from the community," said Sims.

If you want to get involved in these events, Sims says "Just come! Our meetings are always open to the public. Senior Airmen and below can always attend."

The Airman's Council is an excellent opportunity to develop leadership skills, noted Sims. "We're going to be having the re-elections next month, so we are going to need more Airmen to participate, step up and take over."

For those interested in joining the Airman's Council, contact Senior Airman Rodane Williams at rodane.williams@us.af.mil.