Our Biggest Intake to Date!! Profile on Sharla

Sharla, my sister-in-law, was buying a fan at Walgreens and they had them in the back because it was "off-season". This made her think to ask, "Do you have flip flops back there?" and the manager said they had THREE boxes!! Sooooo, a little negotiating and 10 minutes later, 146 pairs of flip flops made their way into her car! CONGRATS Sharla, on being the Flip Flop Friend with the biggest one day total!!

Profile and Publicity!

Jennifer, a Flip Flop Friend over at katieminmin did a really nice post on the Flip Flop Fleet!

Thank you Jennifer! Let me know when you are at your number and we will see where your shoes should go! We appreciate the publicity and are excited about your friends getting involved, too!

Profile on...South Suburban Evangelical Free Church, Women's Bible Study

This is my friend Margie. We have been friends for 26 years (yipes!) She and I are "lifers" which means that we have been friends for so long that we will always be friends - we joke that we will live in the same retirement complex someday!

Margie, who has recently agreed to be one of our board members, took the Flip Flop Fleet idea to her Bible study group at her church. This is the first time that they have completed a service project together. The goal was 50 pairs of shoes by December, and in a few short weeks they have collected 84 pairs of shoes! By OCTOBER.

Here is the Women's Bible Study group from South Suburban Evangelical Free Church in Apple Valley, MN. YAY LADIES! THANK YOU!!

This wasn't enough for them, though! They have now taken the idea to their entire church.

The topic of their study is "Bearing Fruit in God's Family" and they thought it would be great to exemplify what it means to bear fruit by identifying ourselveswith Christ and caring about what He cares about - People! Hebrews 10:24

Margie says it so well here..."Haiti's needs go way beyond 'shoes' but this tangible, needed gift will wonderfully reflect the love of God to these children'.

AMEN!

Profile on a Peapod!

I was surfing around from blog to blog the other night looking at some new blogs. I found a few that caught my eye and I left comments. I decided to leave the address for the Flip Flop Blog on them, as who knows? Maybe someone will be moved to go check it out and see what we are all about. Sure enough, someone did! A new (and very efficient) Flip Flop Friend! Cris Peters and her girls from Sorrento, FL. She tells it better than I ever could, so please FLIP on over to her BLOG Thank you Cris and thank you to your sweet girls! We are going to have your shoes go to Haiti via C3 Missions International. They are in the process of filling a semi in Kansas City with items for those affected by the storms and we are happy to work with them.

Profile on...Denise Runde and her Walgreens Adventures!

Denise Runde is a co-worker of mine from Omaha, NE. We have worked together for nearly 10 years and she is a GEM!! She is DEFINITELY the most enthusiastic Flip Flopper out there! She has personally collected 158 pairs of shoes! She makes nothing seem impossible. I could try to explain the GREAT idea that Denise had but here she is in her own words -

OK, I just got the best deal on some flip flops. I called around to my local Walgreens to see who still had some left! Well, I went to one and I talked to the manager to see if she wanted to "make a deal" well she did. They have flip flops that are $1.99 and are 75% off that price. I told her I would buy all the $1.99 shoes if she would sell them to me for $.25 a pair she said "YES". I was soooo excited. I purchased 43 pairs for $11.00. I would suggest calling around to your local Walgreens to see if they have any summer shoes left. They are just wanting to get rid of them!!!!! Good luck and I'll be going to a few more Walgreens tomorrow "to make a deal" Happy shoe hunting :


So I followed her lead and stopped by a Walgreens over lunch. I was able to buy 67 pairs of flip flops for .25 each. I also asked about the crocs. The manager said she could only go as low as $1.50. I said that we really needed to keep it to $1.00 and she said ok! So I got 27 pairs of crocs, too!

If you are willing, please stop by your local Walgreens (or two). Ask for the manager and explain that we are collecting shoes for kids in need. Then tell them we have worked with Walgreens locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. The woman today told me I was helping her out, too. They need to get the rest of their Halloween stuff out! BUT, as Denise told me, THE TIME IS NOW! THE FLIP FLOPS ARE ON CLEARANCE NOW!

Denise is also excited about what her boys, Jackson and Sam, are learning from this. Aren't they adorable?

Her husband had to get on the roof to take this picture, and this isn't even all the shoes! You rock, Rundes!! Way to go making this a family affair!!

Profile on...Holly Kindbom

Since Holly is obviously a very adventurous person, she didn't even hesitate to jump on board the Fleet!

She was also was one of the quickest respondents - within a week of joining our adventure she had already purchased a ton of shoes! She is now up to 120 pair!! I know her through Entertainment, where we both work, but she is based in Colorado.

Yeah, Holly!! THANK YOU!!

Who Are We?

We are Lee and Dawn Shelton, the founders of the FLEET. We are excited about the possibilities of this endeavor and eager to get it going! Like one of our new FRIENDS Carlee said, our wish is that no parent has to choose between feeding their children or getting them shoes. Perfectly said, Carlee, thank you. We want to start with shoes for Haiti, as that is where our children are, and we have a number of contacts there. We are not limiting ourselves to providing shoes to just Haiti. If there is a group going on a missions trip somewhere and would like to take some shoes, we will work with them!


Here are our kids, Philippe and Patricia (pronounced pa-tree-see-a), pictured at their orphanage in Port-au-Prince. We are also waiting for a baby girl from China.


Here is the first picture of Flips and Sandals - this is 45 pair. The dogs are excited about it!! We have six new Flip Flop Friends and a handful of Fans, so I will be posting on this soon!