MoCo Athletics

Winston Churchill High School field hockey player Laura Jablonover founded Project Happy Feet, a nonprofit that offers people living in low-income communities equal access to athletic equipment. The organization started by collecting more than 80 pairs of shoes, which were recycled by a third-party charity. Project Happy Feet has received donations and is collecting shoe donations at Churchill and at Thomas S. Wootton High School.

Earlier this school year, Churchill’s Athletic Coordinator Jesse Smith shared the following: “How can we make athletic opportunities more accessible to student-athletes in low-income areas?” Winston Churchill field hockey player Laura Jablonover wondered after attending a summer camp in Washington, DC, where she saw several schools in low-income districts. Laura, determined to help fix the problem, founded Project Happy Feet, a nonprofit that offers low-income communities equal access to athletic equipment. Over the summer, Project Happy Feet collected over 80 pairs of shoes, which were then recycled by a third-party charity. Project Happy Feet will also receive more than $90 to donate to schools in the following week. Additionally, Project Happy Feet has placed boxes in the main offices of Winston Churchill High School and Thomas Wootton High School for students to contribute and donate shoes. Boxes will soon be added to places such as gyms and sportsplex. However, if you are not looking to donate shoes, Project Happy Feet is holding a bake sale this week to gather funds for advertisements and boxes. Laura aims to grow Project Happy Feet and give a great number of student-athletes equal opportunities to play the sports they love.