SOLE-FUL SERVICE

Crowd helps label, sort and ship shoes for the needy

NORTH COVENTRY » Marcy Flickinger did not want her son Jackson to spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day like just another day off from school, watching TV or playing on the computer.

“I wanted him to do something, to give service,” she said on Monday.

She found it at In Ian’s Boots, a non-profit organization that provides shoes to the needy. It was founded by Ron and Holly Miller and named after their late son, who was killed in a sledding accident on Jan. 15, 2010.

Ian died from a head injury incurred when the plastic sled he was riding struck a ski lift tower on a Scout trip in Potter County, but the name of the non-profit comes from an usual circumstance.

Rescue workers found a typed message inside Ian’ boot.

It was a passage from the Bible, James 1:2-4, which reads: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

It’s a story Ron Miller told a group of new volunteers Monday and one which Flickinger told her son and friends Cailin, Liam and Declan Harrington.

“I shared the Miller’s story and they were personally touched by it,” said Flickinger. “They were ready to come.” They weren’t alone. Over the long weekend, Ron Miller estimated the group had about 150 volunteers show up to help sort shoes in the warehouse off Route 100.

It wasn’t the first time for Erin Quinn of Collegeville.

A senior at Perkiomen Valley High School, Quinn brought her sister Julia, a sophomore, as well as sophomore Asha Weir and senior Allie Supinski, both of Schwenksville.

Quinn too is moved by the Miller’s story.

“They took something that must have been so hard to face, and they turned it into something amazing,” she said.

Perhaps because Ian was a scout, members of Webelo Pack and Boy Scout Troop 95 were on hand in force as well, sorting, labeling and packing up boxes of sneakers to be shipped to wherever they’re needed.

Several boxes were labeled Dominica and Lynn and Luke Preston personally delivered some to Guatemala.

They had visited while doing service work through Church of the Savior and Luke Preston was taken aback by the conditions, and the lack of shoes on children’s feet.

They got in touch with In Ian’s Boots and returned in July with 250 pairs of sneakers. They were back in the warehouse Monday, helping to organize more.

Miller said he was happy — and amazed — by all the help.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to apply another quotation to the effort, this one from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — “Life’s persistent and most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Scouts from Troop and Pack 95, out of Cedarville United Methodist Church in North Coventry, were among the many volunteers who turned out for a Martin Luther King Jr.-inspired day of service over the weekend at In Ian’s Boots. Pictured from left sorting boxes Monday are Gabriel Gonzalez, Michael Wingert and Justin Cahoe.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Addison DeFoor, a third grader at North Coventry Elementary School, joined her mom Alison and Kacie Hsia, president of the school’s PTO, for a day of service Monday at In Ian’s Boots.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Lynn and Luke Preston do service work in Guatemala through Church of the Savior and Luke was deeply affected seeing children there without shoes. They now volunteer regularly at In Ian’s Boots and were able to make a delivery personally to the children he saw.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Volunteer Aaron Hersh moves boxes during a Martin Luther King Jr. day of service at In Ian’s Boots in North Coventry.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Collegeville resident Erin Quinn, center, is a senior at Perkiomen Valley High School. She convinced her sister, Julia and fellow sophomore Asha Weir, left, and senior Allie Supinski,right, both of Schwenksville, to lend a hand at In Ian’s Boots as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. day of service.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA From left, Cailin and Liam Harrington, from Owen J. Roberts Middle School and their brother Declan from West Vincent Elementary School, joined West Vincent student Jackson Flickinger Monday sorting sneakers for In Ian’s Boots as a way to give back on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.