By: Sydney Dingus
Photo by Kurstyn Ison
Shoes 4 the Soul is often considered the University of the Cumberlands’ biggest ministry event. UC hosts elementary students from nine Whitley County schools to provide students with a new pair of shoes
As soon as children enter the O. Wayne Rollins Gymnasium, UC faculty, staff, and student volunteers dance with waiting children, wash their feet, fit them with new socks and shoes, and go through different activities with them. These hundreds of children also receive a Cumberlands T-shirt, a backpack filled with school supplies and hygiene items like hand sanitizer, deodorant, and toothbrushes.
Shoes 4 the Soul has a 14-year legacy and this year’s event was impactful and rewarding for more than just the students who left with new shoes on their feet. Alaina Johns, is an elementary education major at UC. The Cumberlands senior has served as a part of Shoes 4 the Soul every year. Johns said, “The whole experience is always really good.” She stated that her favorite part is “To just connect with all the students in different ways, and to have conversations with them.” When asked how she feels to see the kids with their new shoes, she said that their joy is contagious because “… it’s really exciting to get to see them get their new shoes and just how excited they get and how they jump around and test their shoes”.
UC’s Campus Ministries takes months to get ready for Shoes 4 the Soul. Hannah Baldauff is the Ministry Coordinator for this office. Baldauff described how Campus Ministries is involved with all the behind the scene work for the event along with donors and several community partners including Ken-Ten Advertising, Forcht Bank, Shoe Sensation, Dayspring Health, The Williamsburg Health Department, and Whitley North. Baldauff stated that her favorite thing about the event is “…how it’s centered on Christ.” She said that for the visiting students, getting their feet washed is a tangible picture of how the Son of God submitted himself to do humble jobs for people he loved. Baldauff stated that “It focuses on his last night with his disciples where he willingly took a step down and humbly served his disciples by washing their feet.”
This Season of Service event ministers to students whose teachers and family resource coordinators identify them as high need. Neeka Holcomb is with Partners for Rural Impact and works at Whitley Central Primary School. Holcomb had high praise for Shoes 4 the Soul and the way it “… brings us together as a community”. She said that she believes the event is a good partnership between local schools and the University of the Cumberlands, “Because it also allows our students to visit the campus, which typically they would not, or maybe they would not do that.” She also emphasized the value of kids being able to positively interact with their college student “buddies” throughout the day. She said, “I think it’s really good for our kids to receive one-on-one attention that sometimes they don’t always get at school or home.”
Overall, the Shoes 4 the Soul event was a huge success and an excellent start to the rest of the Cumberland’s Season of Service events.
September 18, 2025