FAIRHOPE, Ala. — “I had this wonderful feeling inside, like what we were doing was really going to make a difference in people’s lives. That was when it hit me that our concept, Running Start Shoes, had actually become a reality. It was a great day,” Courtney Parker said.

Parker, a senior at Bayside Academy and the former 2008 Miss Alabama Teen USA, first had the idea to create Running Start Shoes after a trip to the shoe store about a year ago.

“I was putting on this new pair of shoes I had bought, and it made me think about the feeling I get when I am wearing new shoes. It’s a sort of fresh confidence, like I can take on the world. Then one day when I was visiting my Little Brother at a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mobile event, I started looking around at all of the children whose families probably can’t afford to buy them new shoes very often, and I thought it would be really nice if they could at least start school with a new pair of shoes, because starting school is such a big event in children’s lives.”

Parker decided to call her concept “Running Start Shoes,” and with the help of her mother, local psychiatrist Sandra Parker M.D., she pitched the idea to Paul Wilson, the World Outreach Division president for the Soles4Souls organization, an international shoe charity based in Nashville, Tenn. Wilson, an Alabama native who divides his time between Alabama and Tennessee, loved the idea and immediately volunteered to help.

“Courtney’s initiative was a model for what our organization does. She identified a local need, and we were glad to come along and work beside her. That’s what we do here, we give shoes to those around the corner and around the world,” said Wilson.

In addition to the help she received from Soles4Souls, Parker also involved her community in the project, and even persuaded her orthodontist, Dr. Glenn Glass, to place a “Running Start Shoes” donation box in his lobby to collect new footwear. Parker also contacted the Baldwin County School System to ask for kindergarten shoe sizes.

“Courtney told me about her project, and I really wanted to help. I thought the donation box was a great idea, because there are so many generous people coming in and out of our office. I thought it was a great way to generate community interest and get her project off the ground. I hope more community business owners will join and promote Courtney’s initiative,” said Glass.

Last month, with the help of Soles4Souls, generous community sponsors and the Baldwin County School System, Parker’s project finally came to fruition when she delivered nearly 100 shoes to kindergarteners at 14 different Baldwin County elementary schools.

But Parker’s plans don’t stop with Baldwin County. She plans to expand her initiative, and she has already contacted state education officials and her local legislators, many of whom are eager to help.

“It’s programs like Courtney’s that begin at the community levels that truly make a difference. And it’s refreshing to see that there are young people out there who realize that it’s not just the government’s responsibility to care for those in need, that people at the local level can work together to help the families in their community who are struggling,” said state Rep. Jamie Ison. “I’d love to see Running Start Shoes become a statewide campaign, and I’ve already made a pitch on her behalf at the state department of education to help distribute information about her initiative to local entitites.”

And, while Parker would also like to see her initiative become statewide someday, for right now, she said she’s just happy knowing that she’s helped scores of Baldwin County’s youngest learners feel a little more confident during their first days of school.

For more informationon on this project or to make a donation, contact Sandra Parker M.D. at 422-5279, or by e-mail at: whatzupdox@aol.com.