Holy grounds

OTHELLO — The hot coffee served Sunday by an Othello youth group will help some Othello children with new shoes this winter.

“We call it Coffee for a Cause,” said church volunteer Shelley Kensler. “It’s (run by) the Presbyterian youth, and we use the money to purchase shoes for Othello school kids.”

The Ironworks Cafe & Market was packed Sunday morning with people who wanted to help further the ministry, or maybe who just wanted coffee and a homemade cinnamon roll. Middle and high school students from the Othello First Presbyterian Church youth group made and served the drinks. Kensler and her husband made the cinnamon rolls themselves, she said.

“We do this once a year,” she said. “Erica (Rattray, owner of Ironworks Cafe) donates the use of Ironworks and one of her employees, and really some of her resources too. And then other people donate the other materials that go into it. It’s all pure profit for the program.”

The shoe ministry, called Soul2Sole, has been going on for about 10 years, Kensler said. The program relies on school counselors in the Othello district to identify children who need new shoes. The counselor lets the student pick out the shoes online, and then the church orders and pays for them.

“We like to do it that way because the school counselors help make good use of our money,” Kensler said. “We don’t want to buy cheap shoes, but we don’t want to put a $150 pair of shoes on a third grader.”

The annual event was scheduled after the church’s Sunday morning service, Kensler said, and ran until 1 p.m. so members of other congregations could come after their own services ended. The Presbyterian Church usually serves coffee at the church, she said, but this week they had to come and pay for it. Coffee for a Cause typically brings in about $1,000, she said.

Othello High School senior Garrett Weyns was among the students carrying coffee to supporters. He’s been part of Soul2Sole for seven years, he said.

“It’s something to help out the community, people that need it,” he said. “And we’re willing to help do what we can.”

The need is certainly there. About 81% of the children in the Othello School District are considered low-income, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. And while many other organizations hold drives for food, school supplies and winter coats, shoes are something that often gets overlooked.

“It’s so important here because we have kids who come to school maybe in sandals and socks or their shoes are falling apart,” Kensler said. “A couple of weeks ago, we learned of a kid who was taping the sole of his shoe to the upper part. I’m not sure if his parents were aware of it, but that’s what he was doing. So there’s all kinds of needs, and we enjoy being able to help a little bit.”

All students from kindergarten through high school are eligible, Kensler said. The shoes are good-quality name-brand ones, she said, and run about $60-$100 for a pair.

“We want them to last and we want the kids to wear them,” she said. “They pick them out … The little tiny preschool shoes that are sparkly and glittery are really fun. And then the big shoes for the high school kids, they’re kind of fun to look at, too.”

The way the program is set up follows the Biblical admonition that charity is best done anonymously. The students never know where their shoes came from, Kensler said.

“They just know there’s a program available and that’s the way we want it,” she said.

People who would like to donate to Soul2Sole can reach Othello First Presbyterian Church at 509-488-9957 or online at firstpresbyterianchurchothello.org.

    Othello student Garrett Weyns takes a coffee order at Coffee for a Cause in Othello Sunday. Weyns has been involved with Sole2Soul for seven years, he said.
  

    An Othello First Presbyterian Church youth group member serves up homemade cinnamon rolls at Coffee for a Cause Sunday.