The Fort Atkinson First Congregational United Church of Christ announced recently that it held a “Shoes that Fit” drive through which it was able in 2023 to provide footwear to some 50 area children in need.
According to a recent release, the footwear was collected early last month.
The church has partnered with the Jefferson County Head Start program to provide footwear to children for more than 15 years, the release noted.
“This is an important program to members of our church. Each year, they look forward to serving the needs of local children. Some people even buy shoes months in advance,” Dana Bertelsen, a member of the church’s Outreach Committee and program coordinator of the drive, was quoted as saying in the release.
Shoes and boots were provided to the children this year using cash and in-kind donations, the release stated.
Since 2016, the church has provided footwear for 311 children enrolled in the Jefferson County Head Start program, the release continued.
Director of the Head Start Program Mary Anne Wieland said within the release that the program and its donors, “truly own the title: ’True Community Champions.’”
According to the release, organizational efforts for the drive were coordinated in the fall through Bertelsen and Wieland, with Wieland talking with area teachers to determine which children would most benefit from the project, and Bertesen creating “tags” with information about each child, including a shoe size, which church members could then use to aid in fitting a child with shoes. Footwear is next collected in the church and organized in correlation with the requesting teacher, the release noted, adding that the process concludes during “’Shoes that Fit’ Sunday,” when Jefferson County Head Start volunteers or staff members collect the footwear for distribution to the earlier identified families.
Within the release, Bertelsen expressed her gratitude to those who shopped for shoes and otherwise made the event this year a success.
“I’d like to thank Head Start for helping us help our community in an impactful way and express my appreciation to all of my fellow church members for signing up or giving money to provide for area children each year,” the release quoted her as saying.
As described within the release, the church’s Outreach Committee is charged with meeting needs within the full community, and beyond the needs of the congregation. Annual programs include staffing the Food Pantry and delivering Meals on Wheels two months of each year. Meals on Wheels meals are prepared each week by Fort HealthCare. In September, the volunteers delivered 536 meals throughout Fort Atkinson, the release noted.
Additionally, the release stated, the Outreach Committee routinely spearheads supply drives in partnership with other community organizations. It recently asked for donations of gift wrapping supplies on behalf of the Jefferson County Christmas Neighbors program. It also partnered with the Homeless Coalition of Fort Atkinson in December to give warm clothing and blankets to 10 individuals. In August, the committee partnered with the School District of Fort Atkinson to supply middle school students with 225 deodorants.
The First Congregational United Church of Christ is located at 31 West Milwaukee Ave., Fort Atkinson. Sunday services are held at 10 a.m. and are streamed on the church’s YouTube channel. For more information, about the church, call: 920-563-4802 or visit its website: fortfcc.org.
Fort Atkinson United Church of Christ Outreach Committee Chairperson Nancy Rankin, from left, “Shoes that Fit” program coordinator Dana Bertelsen, several Jefferson County Head Start students, Outreach Committee member Sharon Wisch, and The Rev. Sara Rabe gather with a collection of footwear supplied by church members for distribution to area children in need. Contributed photo.
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