Senior Suha Ashfaq customizes shoes and donates them to children in non-profit organizations.
Ashfaq created ShareAShoe one year ago and uses the app Procreate to custom make shoes for kids who need them. As president of National Art Honor Society at Algonquin, Ashfaq enjoys art and is happy to share this gift with her community. Working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, an organization whose mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth, Ashfaq uses each child’s interests to buy and customize shoes for them.
“I wanted to do this for people because I’ve always had a love for art,” Ashfaq said. “I really wanted to make an impact in my community.”
Starting out, Ashfaq painted shoes as gifts to give to her friends and family. After receiving suggestions from her friends, she branched out and started to put her talent towards a good cause.
“I wouldn’t say my project is inspirational, but impactful because the shoes I’ve made have gone to kids who need them,” Ashfaq said.
So far, Ashfaq has created and donated six pairs of shoes to six different kids. Each pair has gone to those in need, including one kid in a wheelchair and a set of twins whose mother was in her sick bed.
“My family is really proud of me for starting this project; when I made the first donation, we all went together,” Ashfaq said.
During the time Ashfaq has been donating shoes, her family has been supportive and inspired that she wanted to use her passion and turn it into something that can be shared with other people. She also promotes her project on Instagram to make people more aware of the work she has done, and hopes other students will join her cause.
“I started a club where I taught students how to paint shoes in hopes to inspire them to possibly become a part of ShareAShoe,” Ashfaq said.
Using art as a stress reliever, Ashfaq feels making these shoes hasn’t impacted her school life. She completes this project during her free time and feels it’s something she would like to continue in her future including getting more people to contribute.
When deciding between creating a business where people would buy shoes or a project that would help people in need, Ashfaq chose to help people in need. She felt it would bring more light and positivity into their lives rather than making them pay for a basic need.
“I wasn’t fond of creating an actual shoe painting business because most people do that with this talent,” Ashfaq said. “I’ve never seen someone who actually donates to deserving kids and that’s something I wanted to do.”
