One Sole At A Time
Heidi Poysa and Amanda Steinhoff led the shoe-drive improving Veterans "One Sole At A Time"
According to the American Podiatric Medical Association most Americans put 75,000 miles on their feet by the time they reach ago 50. You probably already know that ill-fitting shoes can cause many foot-related problems like bunions, calluses, heel pain and more. The foot has 26 bones with 33 joints and more than 120 muscles, nerves and ligaments - we have to treat our feet better!
And this is where we introduce Amanda Steinhoff, the Homeless Outreach Coordinator for the Tomah VA Medical Center.
"I had a conversation with Dr. Patric Hardiman and he told me about the amount of Veterans coming into the Podiatry Clinic needing proper shoes. This wasn't something I could ignore."
Amanda worked with Heidi Poysa, a Tomah VAMC Social Worker, to create a shoe drive.
"Improving Veterans One Sole At A Time" was created. "We created flyers and posted them everywhere in our facility," Amanda says. "We did a lot of grass-roots contact - walking around and talking with our staff about the shoe drive."
In just a few short weeks, the pair scored more than 35 new and gently-used tennis shoes.
"It was a great first year," Amanda says. "We're thinking about how to do it better next year!"
