If the Shoe Fits, Collect 600 of Them!

Rachel Miller cleans some of the 600 pairs of shoes she collected

Blogger's Note: We wanted to share with you a letter The Digital Notebook received recently from Ron and Holly Miller regarding the recent shoe drive conducted by Rachel Smith for the non-profit organization named after their late son Ian.



Dear Evan,
I just had to let you know the results of Rachel Smith’s shoe drive. She blew it out of the water!!! In just one week she collected exactly 600 pairs of shoes!

This is a complete In Ian’s Boots record for the number of shoes collected in a week. Frankly, this is the only week long drive we’ve experienced, as most drives last about a month and still don’t yield that amount of shoes. The number of shoes she collected is simply astounding.

Ron and I got the shoes from Rachel today (all paired and boxed!), and she came along with us to see the process to the end. Together we cleaned, sanitized and bagged 53 pairs of shoes in about 2 hours.

It is wonderful to know that we have kids like Rachel in this world.

Many thanks,

Ron and Holly

As you can see, Rachel is pretty busy as a result of her
shoe drive.

As some of you may remember from a March 23 post in The Digital Notebook, Rachel is a junior at  Berks Christian School.

The shoe drive Rachel organized involved three schools: Berks Christian School, Conestoga Christian School, and West-Mont Christian School, where Ian Miller had been a student. 

So if some of you are kicking yourself, because you missed the chance to help out a worthwhile organization, get out your calendar because you'll get another chance on Saturday, May 19.

That's when The Second Annual "Boots Bistro" Italian Dinner and Giant Raffle will be held start9ing at 6 p.m.at The Cedarville United Methodist Church in North Coventry.


It will feature:

• Great Italian Food from Giovanni's;
• Fabulous Dessert Buffet donated by the West-Mont Women's Circle from West-Mont Christian Academy; 
• The band, "Some Don't" return again this year with awesome live music;
• A Giant Raffle featuring at least 50 unique items and baskets - Something for the whole family!

All proceeds benefit In Ian's Boots, Inc. whose mission is to provide foot ware to those in need - from our local Pottstown community to across the globe.

Formed by Ron and Holly Miller, In Ian's Boots collects footwear for the needy in memory of their son Ian, who was killed in a 2010 sledding accident while on a Boy Scout trip and whose story became well known for what was found in his boot.


Click here if you would like to know more about the organization they formed, or go to www.iniansboots.org.

Here is the story I wrote for The Mercury about this remarkable young man.

Inside his boot, the coroner found a typed passage from The Bible, James 1:2-4, which reads: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."