Last Saturday June 27 we hosted ‘Art Attack: A Sneaker project with Converse’ with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.  The event saw Coffee Bean bringing 30 of their customer volunteers from Cebu to help 30 of our rescued street children personalize and design their own brand new pair of sneakers donated by Converse.
It was a big day for everyone.  MiA’s staff put in all their effort for the event, and of course, the 30 children drawn from the Boys Home, Girls Home, Drop-In Centre and Schooling Program were very excited.
When the volunteers arrived it all started with them being paired up with a child, and then getting to know each other.  The children shared what their talents were and what their dreams and aspirations for growing up are, and really bonded with their buddy volunteers.
All the volunteers and kids then split into groups for the game.  In each group there were 5 children and their big brother/sister volunteer.  The competitive spirit was high, and eventually ‘Team Bang’ (as they named themselves) were the winners, with the kids on that team being rewarded with a new set of school books and stationery.
And then, it was the part everyone was waiting for – the distribution of a brand new pair of sneakers, generously donated by Converse, for each child.  You could really see it in the kids’ faces – the happiness at being given such an amazing gift!

The kids and volunteers then each settled down to personalize the new pair of sneakers.  The volunteers were so great in assisting and guiding the kids with their designs, helping create stencils and shapes that the children loved putting on the shoes.  All throughout, the volunteers really made sure that the kids were enjoying themselves and having the best time.  Coffee Bean provided a delicious lunch that made sure everyone could focus their creative energy into their sneaker masterpieces!
When everyone had finished with their designs, it was time for pictures! The children were so proud of their new shoes that they had personalized, not just because the shoes themselves were so brilliant, but also because of the time they had spent with their big brother or sister volunteer making it!

The Caring Cup volunteers were fantastic! The value the kids felt by having volunteers spending that time with them and making them feel important is almost beyond words.  We heard that over 100 volunteers applied to Coffee Bean for this event, from which there was only space for 30, so it’s great to know that there are caring, loving, and passionate people in Cebu that want to give their time to volunteer.
A huge thanks to Converse for the shoes, to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for partnering with us at Mercy in Action, and of course to the Caring Cup volunteers.  We hope that this is just the beginning of them joining the Mercy in Action community!

Article originally posted on https://www.mercyinaction.org.uk/2015/07/art-attack/