Dr. Lauren Geaney, UConn Health foot and ankle surgeon, helps distribute footwear at the Friendship Service Center on November 24, 2015. Dr. Michael Aronow (back left), formerly of UConn Health and now in private practice, has been the local organizer of the annual "Our Hearts to Your Soles" campaign since 2007. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health Photo)
The volunteers included three from the UConn Musculoskeletal Institute at UConn Health – Dr. Lauren Geaney, cast technician Kathleen York and medical assistant Lori Engengrro – as well as Dr. Michael Aronow, a former UConn Health physician now in private practice. It was Aronow who first got UConn Health involved in the nationwide Our Hearts to Your Soles campaign eight years ago.
At the Friendship Service Center, 28 people received a new pair of shoes or boots and left with a least one pair of socks, and 15 more people received footwear at the Salvation Army. Some also received a free foot exam.
The shoes and boots were donated by Red Wing Shoes, and the socks were provided by Dignity U Wear. Enough shoes, boots and socks were left behind at the two locations to give to at least 100 other people in need in the coming months.