Students donate shoes at Hobbits For Humanity

On Monday, Aggie Sustainability and Aggie Outdoor Volunteers teamed up to hold Hobbits For Humanity. This is the first year these organizations have held this event. A booth was set up on the northeast corner of the quad where students could donate their shoes and then walk around on campus barefoot — like the hobbits did in The Lord of the Rings saga.

“We thought it would apply to the same sort of demographic that might be interested in going around barefoot and doing service,” said Sarah Woodbury, the student director of Aggie Outdoor Volunteers. “Just to try and get a niche of students to be like ‘Oh that’s cool.’”

Students have the opportunity to donate shoes until Friday at the Val R. Christensen Service Center at the Taggart Student Center. The shoes will be delivered Saturday to St. Anne’s Center, a homeless shelter in Ogden.

“We got 41 pairs of shoes so far and people are still bringing them in until Saturday,” Woodbury said. “So far it’s been pretty successful, especially for our first year.’“

Nathan Staker, the student director of Aggie Sustainability, said the event was quick to catch students' eyes.

“I had a few students approach the table where we were set up,” Staker said. “They were asking ‘What is this? What is Hobbits For Humanities?’ So it really sparked an interest with students. They were very curious about what was going on.”

Even though both Woodbury and Staker considered the event successful, there are a few things they are considering changing in the future.

“With more advertising and letting students know that we are hosting the event, I think it would work a bit better than what we had,” Staker said.

“Next time we definitely want to put out yard signs a couple days in advanced because that would have gotten more people to come,” Woodbury said.

The organizations are hoping to make Hobbits For Humanities an event that happens once or twice a year.

“The coolest thing was watching people take shoes off their feet,” Woodbury said. “That was definitely the most rewarding thing for me.”

“It made me appreciate how good I have it, having shoes,” Staker said. “But also what somebody without shoes or who is homeless has to suffer from that day to day. It’s not a fun perspective. It gave me a greater appreciation for what I have and made me want to donate my shoes for that cause.”