ALBURTIS, Pa. – If you happened to go by the Alburtis Area Community Center Sunday afternoon, you would see hundreds and hundreds of shoes on the ground, being rubber banded, bagged, tagged and stored.<\/p>\n
“We will need another storage unit, maybe a third storage unit,” Brenda Marra said.<\/p>\n
It’s all for Marra’s extraordinary little girl, Renna.<\/p>\n
“She was born on Leap Day 2020,” Renna’s dad, Dave Marra, said. “She absolutely loves water, she loves getting baths…at the same time, she just loves all kinds of music.”<\/p>\n
Dave says the love of water and music are two defining characteristics of someone with Pitt Hopkins Syndrome. That’s the rare genetic condition Renna has.<\/p>\n
“She does struggle with mobility,” Brenda said. “She’s said a few words, but she has some struggles with communication as well.”<\/p>\n
According to Pitt Hopkins Research Foundation<\/a>, the global census is at 1500 families, with a growing number each day as genetic diagnoses increase.<\/p>\n Renna’s was just the 102nd diagnosis in the whole country, according to her parents.<\/p>\n They’re hoping a service dog will help, both in bridging communication and buffering for her.<\/p>\n “If she’s overwhelmed with sensory, the dog could help calm her,” Brenda said.<\/p>\n “When she’s in the public and running around like she does,” Dave added, “she won’t find herself in places she shouldn’t.”<\/p>\n But here’s where the other shoe drops: that service dog can cost about $20,000.<\/p>\n And that’s where all the bags, boxes and truckloads of shoes come in.<\/p>\n Renna’s mom will sell the shoes to funds2orgs<\/a>, a for-profit social impact company that says it keeps 37 million pairs of shoes out of landfills, while providing footwear to people in third-world countries.<\/p>\n The funds raised will help pay for a service dog through Ohio-based 4 Paws for Ability<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In rallying all those rubber soles, Renna has met many kind souls who’ve rallied behind her and her family.<\/p>\n 15-year-old Weston Husser was one of them, who came out to volunteer on Sunday.<\/p>\n “She’s adorable,” he said. “I know it goes to a good cause, so I like to help out.”<\/p>\n Lauren Harris, a longtime friend, was another braving the cold for the efforts.<\/p>\n “There’s been a lot of people that obviously are so grateful that so many people are helping out and that they can have a hand in it,” she said.<\/p>\n “Just watching the overwhelming love for her has been pretty amazing,” dad, Dave, said.<\/p>\n Mom, Brenda, adds the community has been offering more donations than just shoes, helping the family get thousands of dollars closer to that $20k goal.<\/p>\n “I think with just sharing Renna’s story and everyone just kind of rallying around her, falling in love with her,” she said.<\/p>\n Brenda says by the time funds2orgs comes to collect the shoes next month, she expects they’ll have raised somewhere around half of all the funds needed to get the service dog.<\/p>\n So she’ll continue with more fundraising, even once this one is over with.<\/p>\n “I’m still thinking of other fundraising ideas,” she said.<\/p>\n There are several participating locations across the Lehigh Valley for people to drop shoes off through mid-December.<\/p>\n For information on how to drop shoes off or other ways to donate, head t<\/a>o their Instagram page<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can also donate directly to their cause here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n