Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

...asks men to literally walk one mile in a pair of women’s shoes, while raising awareness and funds for Crossroads Crisis Center and the Partnership for Violence Free Families. It is not easy walking in heels, but it is a fun opportunity for men to educate the community about a very serious issue.

Elida High School was gracious enough to host the 3rd Annual 'Walk a Mile in Her Shoes' here in the Lima area. Students collected pledges and committed to gathering together to walk as a sign of their increased awareness of how important it is for everyone to end violence against women and men. One in four woman will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, with females between ages 20 to 24 being at the highest risk.

Joining Elida was a contingency of students from Perry High School, a hosting school in 2008. They were a tremendous support and welcomed at Elida for their participation. Numerous sponsors and donors were generous in their helping to host this event and we are indebted to them all:

Bellacino's Pizza and Grinders
Dominos Pizza
Fat Jack's Pizza
Godfather's Pizza
Pangle's Chateau Pizza
Padrone's Pizza of Elida
Papa John's Pizza
Westgate Lanes Pizza
OSU - Lima Campus
Pepsi of Lima
The Elida Student Council and Advisor, Mr. Bryan Horn
Elida High School Principal, Mrs. Sarah Burden
Darrell Reimer, Master of Ceremonies
Monica Navarre, Crossroads Crisis Center Board President
Gerry Burton, PVFF Board President
Goodwill Industries of Lima/Allen County
Lima Memorial Hospital

There were over 60 male students who walked the track for one mile, while over 125 females then joined them for the final quarter mile around Kraft Memorial Stadium's track on May 13th. Mrs. Burden spoke to the students along with Dan Reiff, Allen County Commissioner; Emily Wrencher, Director of Crossroads Crisis Center; Perry School's Nick Weingart also spoke; along with Allen County Assistant Prosecutor - Tony Miller. The entire student body of Elida School were wonderful along with the faculty and staff in hosting this event and we are deeply appreciative of their time and commitment to making this a memorable event.

We are eager to find a school interested to host the walk in Spring 2011!