What began as a youth mission project for a local Albany church to collect 200 pairs of shoes for those in need, has grown to over 800 pairs of shoes and counting.

The Youth Ministry Pastor at Move Christian Church, Dalton Smith, explained that they have received more shoes than they ever thought they would have, from little feet to big feet.

The idea for this show collection came after a member went to Mexico for vacation and saw so many children running around without shoes on and realized the great need it was and came back home with a mission to change that problem.

What started as the ultimate goal of 200 pairs,Hoka Shoes turned into around 200 pairs per week. The church began collecting at the beginning of December and have grown 4x past their original goal.

The church wanted to help locally as well with the plan of half the shoes collected going to Mexico, and the other half to be distributed locally in the Albany area.

Smith explained that they want to be able to bless as many people as possible, and that they’re excited for surpassing their goal because they’ll be able to extend past just the Albany realms and be able to give to surrounding counties as well.

It’s been incredible to be able to let the church and teens see just what happens when you let God lead, especially during this season of giving as Smith explained.

Even though they have surpassed their goal, the church will continue to accept donations up until December 26, as Smith has continued to encourage everyone who can to come donate as the more shoes they have, the more people they can bless.