"The flip flops were a hit!"

The title quotes Dr. Hess regarding the Flip Flop Fleet's contribution to his recent trip to Honduras.

Thank you Dr. Hess for partnering with us to get some shoes to people in need in Honduras!

And thank you to everyone who has donated shoes. We have many more places we could be taking these shoes, let's keep watching for opportunities!

Stay tuned for some more reports of Flips going to people in need... isn't this fun? My favorite part of all of this is seeing the smiles.

Woo Hoo!

We just flipped over the 500 pair mark!

OLD NAVY Flips Flops on CLEARANCE

Carlee and Jennifer M, from Bloggyland, have found the FLEET! They both emailed to let me know that OLD NAVY has flips on clearance. Carlee also mentions that if you spend $50, shipping is free. Yay!

The girls flips are, shall we say, more affordable than the boys flips on clearance, for some reason. But we are short on boys flips so far and boys could wear these, too, dontcha think? What makes flips boy flips vs. girl flips? Maybe just avoid more "girly" colors and we can outfit more boys, too. Now I know that the color thing isn't that important in orphanages and villages, because I have seen pictures of boys in pink shirts many times, but I'm just sayin'. Maybe they would rather have green or blue! :)

Also, all sizes are ok. Even some adult sizes here and there are great. At our kids' orphanage there are a lot of older kids, and the nannies and workers need shoes, too. Plus, like I said, our goal is to reach beyond Haiti to wherever a need is found. Things are moving and shaking! More to report soon!!

The Fleet is Launched...

I decided a few months back that I wanted to do something more with my life. I recalled the director of Patricia and Philippe's orphanage saying, "Parents in Haiti would rather their children have shoes than food." In a country where people are indeed starving and 1 of 4 children die before the age of 10, this is a truly profound statement. That was it...I would collect SHOES. We decided to call our endeavor the Flip Flop Fleet. We will work with the contacts we have in Haiti to start with, but not end with. We are willing to work with any country in need!

We are still getting things together. We want to have non-profit status. We have a website reserved. But here is what we do know. We already have a board of directors in place. We have a logo nearly finished.

We have a minimum goal of FIFTY Flip Flop Friends (in FIFTY cities) and FIFTY Flip Flop Fans.

The definition of a Flip Flop Friend is:
1) Someone who is willing to gather a minimum of 50 pairs of flip flops or sandals over the course of a year. One of our board members recently purchased 25 pair for .49 each. You could throw a party and ask all of your guests to bring a pair. However you choose to get your flip flops is up to you.

2) You do not ship your Flips to me. First of all, we don't want to waste unnecessary shipping expenses. Second, we don't have the space :). Third, one of our goals is to work with churches to coordinate missions trips with shoe delivery. For example, a group that is going to the Phillipines may be willing to take some Flips with them to deliver to the village(s) they are traveling to serve.

The definition of a Flip Flop Fan is:
1) Someone who makes occasional monetary or shoe donations.
2) Someone who is willing to commit to pray for this ministry.

We are open to ideas so please leave a comment or contact us via email at flipflopfleet@gmail.com with suggestions. Also, please email me to let me know if you would like to sign up as a Flip Flop Fleet Friend or Fan.

Here are the Friends we have so far:
The Flynn Family - Boulder City (Las Vegas), Nevada
Denise Runde - Omaha, NE
Chuck Hujet - Appleton/Green Bay, WI
Nichole Cheeney - Phoenix, AZ
Holly Kindbom - Denver, CO
Mindy Fitzgerald - Houston, TX


Don't let it stop you if someone from your city or state is already a Friend. We all need more Friends! :)

I am so excited! It is a great time of year to get Flips on clearance - won't you consider making a purchase or two?