In McClancy, a schoolwide drive focused on aiding the people of the Navajo Nation in Klageto, Arizona is taking place to concentrate on accumulating shoes and sneakers for those in need. One may ask, why specifically this area? How was this started? Does it actually benefit those in need? Are there are Brothers within the Navajo Nation? I had a sit-down and spoke with Mrs. Doddato, one of the main coordinators of this event, to learn more and answer these questions.

The roots of the donation drive began when a BOSH (Brothers of the Sacred Heart) mission involving Mr. Melito and Mr. Anthony Olszewski took place within the Navajo nation last summer.  There, they spoke with people there, and soon enough the drive was established. Sadly, the Native reservations today are very poorly equipped, and conditions are not exactly on par with those of most other places. Because the people are hard-working, there is also a prominent need for hefty shoes. While there is no restraint on what type of shoes can be donated, they must be in good enough condition for usage, and casual shoes are highly preferred. The Brothers have been set on helping others since their foundation, so it is no surprise that there are brothers within the Navajo nation working on helping the people. There is never a direct demographic in mind; they only seek to help those in need across the world.

When I spoke with Mrs. Doddato, she stated that it is our duty as Christians to always help those in need through service. She also explained that it is good for the youth to do service and be trained to do good acts so they can get used to performing good actions outside of school every day. It is the Lord’s plan for us to help out our fellow man and to give charity to the impoverished. Communities such as the Navajo will greatly benefit from these drives as it’s estimated if the whole school, excluding staff, donates one pair of shoes, we can accumulate over seven hundred pairs. This could be a major help for those in need.

This should serve as a message that we can make bigger differences than we think we can, and it is fascinating how the good deeds of a few can lead to vital events that help so many.