The Shoe Will Fit

Imagine 55 pairs of empty shoes; now, imagine the lives of the people who would have worn those shoes.

That's the message that the Abington Heights High School chapter of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) would like the school's students to bring home this March when an exhibit of 55 shoes, representing the 55 Pennsylvanian lives lost daily due to tobacco use, goes on display in the school's vestibule.

"We like this project because the number of the people lost in Pennsylvania daily to tobacco use startles people but it is hard for people to visualize," said Mary Chuff, the president of the Abington Heights High School SADD chapter. "If you see shoes, shoes that those people might have worn, it puts things into perspective."

SADD is collecting shoes now until the end of February and they aren't just looking for adult-sized shoes, explained Roseanne Michaels, SADD moderator.

"We take any kind of shoes, men's, women's, whatever age, because of the second-hand smoke factor as well, because people also die from that," Michaels said. "We want to show all of the aspects of smoking."

Part of the rationale behind this exhibit is to teach students that the choices they make today can influence their future lives.

"A lot of times in high school, teenagers tend to have the 'we're invincible' kind of attitude, where they don't understand that what they do now can affect them later," Chuff said. "This kind of shows them and they can put a visual to the facts they've heard and, hopefully, connect the two. This way, if they are thinking about smoking or being with someone who smokes, hopefully they will think back to this exhibit and make a better decision."

"People need to think about their lives and the interactions they have with every single other person they have in their lives and then they need to take themselves out of the picture," Chuff continued. "If they are a parent, what would happen to their children if they weren't there anymore? Or if they take care of their own parents, what would happen to them if they weren't around to take care of them anymore? They need to imagine what life would be like if they or someone else that is a smoker weren't there anymore. That's what we're trying to put into perspective."

At the end of March, SADD will donate the shoes to the St. Francis of Assisi Food Kitchen in Scranton. Shoes can be dropped off at the main office of Abington Heights High School until Feb. 29. Call 585-5300 for more information.

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