EAST JORDAN — A club that started in East Jordan is looking to expand.
The East Jordan Shoe Club is all about teaching students they have value by ‘walking a mile’ in other people’s shoes. 9&10 News’ Megan Huiskens was able to talk with some students about how this club has impacted them.
“I didn’t realize the full impact it would have on me until about early winter this year when we had Mike Donahue come in and speak to our school,” student Hannah Wyman said. “And then we had him here later for the podcast that day. And, it just kind of after that and, kind of all clicked how big and important this was to me and so many other people here.”
Mike Donahue is the author of Value Up, a book that students are required to read before joining the show club, long with writing out their 10 life goals and community service. Students are chosen not on their grades but on their character.
“'Value up’ is our slogan because it’s the name of the book that you have to read to get into the Shoe Club,” student Natalie Joy said. “It really sets the foundation for what the Shoe Club is trying to teach you, because it teaches students how they can live their lives and overcome the challenges they’ve had.
“A lot of the people that join the club, they don’t come from good home lives, and they struggle and they have bad grades or they have bad behavior. The book Value Up that they have to read gives them a foundation about how you can learn to value yourself and value others to improve your life overall.”
The teacher who started it all is Matt Hamilton of East Jordan Middle School.
“At the core of the Shoe Club is teaching kids that they have inherent value in themselves,” Hamilton said. “It’s been incredible over the last 17 years to watch the Shoe Club grow and develop. “No. 1, I have phenomenal kids who come up with ideas, and the kids jump in and want to do it. And second, I have a phenomenal community of East Jordan that jumps in with us and supports us financially or with their expertise, their time, their talents.
Shoe Club collects shoes of successful people who accomplished big goals. The goal is to motivate the students to follow their dreams.
The club discusses how to treat other people, community service projects, public speaking and a new addition, podcasting. Students are given the opportunity to speak with the people wearing the shoes.
Able Tall, an incoming 8th grader, is waiting for his turn to host.
“I’ve only done it once because I was trying to save it for Amon-Ra. I asked Hamilton if I didn’t host at all this year, if I could just get a guaranteed spot with a Lions player or something like that. And so, he said, yeah.
I went to his camp in April, so I’ve already seen him in person,” said Tall. “I think that because at his camp, I was kind of a fanboy and I kind of just froze. So, I don’t really know what I would do.”
Now close to two decades later Hamilton is seeing positive impacts on the students’ lives. They are wanting to expand to other schools in Michigan and eventually the country.
Shoe Club will now be called Shoe Club Nation. The hope is to provide programing to other schools to boost students’ self-esteem.
“The last couple of years, we just thought, you know what. This has been so impactful. We got to package this up and impact more kids, and more communities across the great state of Michigan, as well as the whole United States.”
And again, we’re packaging up the Shoe Club in a way that’s going to be easy for teachers in any school district to influence and impact their kids in a positive way.
Shoe Club Nation is looking for teachers who want to add the club to their school in Michigan. The students’ themselves are seeing improvements in their lives.
“I think that what the Shoe Club has taught me a lot is respect,” said Tall. “And it gives me a space where I feel safe. Other than sports, I kind of just go home and do nothing all day. But the Shoe Club has really let me be in my own space.
“It has taught people that a leader is only respected when they respect others,” said Wyman. “You cannot gain another person’s respect if you don’t respect them. And if you want to be a powerful leader, you have to understand when and how to.”
“I think that the Shoe Club impacts so many students because it’s grown a name for itself in the school, but you don’t really think about how much it’s done until you’re actually a part of it,” said Joy. “So, it was really cool for me because you don’t only learn life skills, but public speaking, how to give a presentation and how to write speeches. You get experiences like a great community, like to fall back on if you ever need help in school.”
“What do you want them to know about the Shoe Club?”
“That it will open so many doors of incredible possibilities for them that they never even could have dreamed of,” said Wyman. “And that you will meet so many amazing people along the way.”
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