Karen is a bright 14-year-old who lives in the Eduardo Brito community in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Many of the families who live in this community live far below the poverty line. Some struggle to provide food and clothing for their children and some live in homes without running water or electricity.

Karen recently started middle school, where she’s excelling in her studies. She is intelligent and ambitious; she dreams of becoming a paleontologist when she grows up.

And she has plans to make that dream a reality.

“I’m going to start with culinary arts,” Karen says. “It is expensive to pursue a career in paleontology, so I will work in the culinary field first to have money for my schooling.”

But for Karen’s family, sending her and her four siblings back to school each year is a financial burden. The cost of new uniforms and shoes to fit growing children adds up quickly. Unfortunately, many children are often excluded from education because of these financial concerns. That’s where the Buckner Family Hope Center at Eduardo Brito comes in.

In addition to providing programs to equip families like Karen’s through education, financial empowerment, spiritual development, counseling and family coaching, the Family Hope Center also provides food and clothing to meet the needs of the families they serve.

And this year, we’re helping our Buckner Family Hope Centers in Santo Domingo meet those needs by using all proceeds from #RUNforSHOES, our second annual virtual run, to provide the black school shoes all children in the Dominican Republic are required to wear to school.

You can help us provide school shoes for children like Karen by joining the #RUNforSHOES and inviting your friends to run, walk or donate with you. Learn more at buckner.org/runforshoes.