Our back story:
When Chase's mom asked him what he wanted for his 11th birthday he asked for one thing: To help disadvantaged kids get shoes for the upcoming school year.
“I wanted to do something for everybody else and not for me,” said Chase. “I know that some of the people don't have what I have.”
Chase's mom, Michelle Sorensen, put an ad on Craigslist on August 1, 2013 explaining her son's
special birthday wish, and over the next four weeks they began to pour in. By August 27th Chase had received 688 pairs of birthday shoes.
“It was taking over my guest room!” said Michelle. The floor and bed were covered with shoes of all styles, sizes and colors. Sandals, sneakers and snow boots were all neatly lined up ready to be donated on Chase's birthday. Michelle created a public Facebook event to help create awareness for Chase's shoes and then donations began to arrive from friends and family across seven different states and two continents.
“It just exploded into this ginormous wonder of generosity,” said Michelle, who is incredibly proud of her son's giving spirit and heart for those who are less fortunate than himself. This wasn't the first time that Chase had asked his mom if he could do something to help others. When he was only eight, Chase spent the afternoon at a low income day camp Michelle's church was working with. He noticed that the kids there didn't have much to play with and when he got home he asked if he could go through his own toys to donate.
“He's teaching me right now,” said Michelle. “It's something we can talk about and learn from together.”
Chase said he was inspired to wish for shoes because he noticed that some of his classmates often came to school in the same clothes and worn out shoes.
“It's so that way they don't get picked on,” explained Chase. “So they don't feel left out and like they're not cared for.”
Michelle had arranged to drop the shoes off at the Union Gospel Mission on Chase's 11th birthday. UGM then distributed the shoes to kids in their crisis shelter and Anna Ogden Hall. They also distributed some to the Center for Women and Children in Coeur d'Alene.
“We never even thought that it would get to this level,” said Michelle. “It's a wonderful feeling.”
After being inspired by Chase's giving spirit, Other Mothers donated all the shoes they had left over following a sale they held over a weekend and Fleet Painting made a monetary donation that was used to purchase another 35 pairs shoes. 688 pairs of shoes far exceeded the original 200 pairs that Chase had originally hoped to raise for local shelters. Chase was so thankful for the generosity of his initial fundraiser that he has decided to dedicate his birthday to the charity of others for years to come. For this next year of 2014, Chase has decided to assist children caught in between traumatic situations caused by unfortunate events, where law enforcement may intervene. He is hoping to contribute teddy bears to the Spokane Police and Fire Departments for them to distribute while on calls involving frightened and confused children, in attempts to give them hope and security in a time of loss and loneliness. For more information please contact his page Chase's Charities: Love Thy Child, Chase Loney, Michelle Sorensen or Kyle Sorensen. God Bless and thank you for your continued support.
