EDWARDSVILLE — Catholics Alive, a Newman organization at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIU-E), recently won the Educating for Justice Award from the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA) for a Shoe Project program.

Every autumn for the past several years, Catholics Alive has been collecting shoes to donate to Shoeman Water Projects, a 501(c) (3) non-profit charity that is run out of the St. Louis area by George Hutchings.

"We've done the project for three years, but we actually won the award for our previous two years," said Sister Claudia Calzetta, SL, campus minister at SIU-E. "However, this year was our most successful year ever because we collected one ton of shoes." The SIU-E donated shoes came from faculty, staff and students at SIU-E and from a variety of Catholic parishes.

Sister Claudia explained that Hutchings collects shoes for the charity, sells them to retailers in developing countries "for pennies on the dollar" and uses funds from the export of shoes to bring clean fresh water to places like Haiti or developing countries in Africa. Affordable shoes are a life-saving tool as they protect the new owner's feet and overall health from foot abrasions, parasites and mites, according to the Shoeman website, www.shoeman.org.

The resale of shoes provides jobs and affordable footwear. Moreover, the shoes donated thus far have resulted in the purchase of four water-well drilling rigs, more than 250 wells drilled serving more than 200,000 people, as well as water purification system installations and well pump repairs serving clinics, schools and villages across the globe.

Sister Claudia credits SIU-E junior Jessica Cannon for leading the project. "Jessica has been involved with the project for several years and she really wanted it to be successful this year," Sister Claudia said. "I think we had about 15 to 20 students seriously working on this project, but of course others helped out."

The project is a big one, said Sister Claudia. The Newman Center also holds a "Barefoot Mass in the Grass" in conjunction with the project. "This year, however, it was raining so we held the Mass indoors, but we were still barefoot," she said.

"This really is a massive project," she said, noting that the shoes must be collected, rubber-banded together and then bagged in large garbage bags. Shoes can be dress shoes, oxfords or tennis shoes, new or used, but must be suitable for wearing. "We take over several rooms here for a couple of weeks and then he (Hutchings) comes to pick them up in his van," said Sister Claudia. "So yes, it is a pretty messy project, but it is for a good cause."

The year 2011 has been a good one for Catholics Alive, said Sister Claudia. Not only did they win the CCMA award, but Catholics Alive also was named SIU-E Student Organization of the Year and Sister Claudia was awarded an Honorable Mention Award for Advisor of the Year.