Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®

The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® event this past Saturday was so overwhelmingly amazing, I had to take two full days to process it, and I am not sure I have quite yet. I am filled with awe once again for the people of this amazing community. Creston, BC is a town full of love, support and generosity, and I feel so lucky to be able to be a part of it, even in this small way. 

We had thirty six walk participants. Standing there, at the starting line, and watching all of these men, in red heels, showing their support for this cause... I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes. Listening to Chief Jason Louie speak about his personal reasons for participating in this event was an inspiration. I cannot express how moved I was seeing the event happening, and being able to witness the support from the community just blew me away. To everyone who participated, volunteered, and supported the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® event, I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was so incredible to see and an honour to have helped create something like this in our community.

The week before the event, I had someone ask me if I thought Creston was ready for this kind of thing, and until that moment, it had not even crossed my mind that Creston might not be ready. But once the thought was out in the world, I did what I do, and my standard pre-event feeling started creeping in. The best way I can describe it is that in the days or hours leading up to an event, I start to feel like I'm ten years old and nobody is coming to my birthday party. I'll admit, when I arrived at Spirit Square at 11:00am on June 22nd, I definitely had that feeling.  But there was work to be done, so I got to it. At noon, I was at the corner of Canyon and 16th, hauling barricades and talking to volunteers, and as I made my way back down a very quiet Canyon street to Spirit Square, I could not believe what was waiting for me! There were so many people!! Everywhere I looked there were men, learning to walk in high heels, some strutting, some supported by friends, some sitting. There were volunteers handing out shoes, bandaids, wool and tape. There were kids running around. People taking photos. It was so awesome. We had firefighters, RCMP officers, business owners and more, all out to support a cause together. 

And following the event.... every post I saw on social media was of red shoes. Every conversation I had was about the event. I've been approached by business owners wanting to sponsor next year's event. I've already decided this is one I want to be a part of again, and I am really hoping the Kootenai Community Centre Society feels the same, because I've got a hundred ideas about how to make it bigger and better for 2020!

This event, or events like this, are the reason I wanted to start this business. Being a part of a community like this, being a part of a group of people all coming together to make change is so rewarding. I am once again so grateful to be able to play a small role in this community, and to know so many awesome people who are all making a difference. This one just blew me away, and I cannot wait to do it again!