Dec. 9, 2014 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – More than a dozen Vanderbilt student-athletes will be spending part of their Christmas break by serving others on an international service trip.
In conjunction with Soles4Souls, the Vanderbilt athletic department is sending 13 student-athletes and two support staff on an eight-day trek in Costa Rica, which begins Saturday, Dec. 13. The contingency will distribute shoes and clothes to people in need.
This is the second such international service trip for the athletics department, which sent 21 student-athletes to Tanzania, Africa with Soles4Souls in July 2013.
“We are thrilled to continue our commitment to sending student-athletes on service trips around the world with this venture to Costa Rica with Soles4Souls,” Director of Athletics David Williams said. “Soles4Souls is a great organization and we are excited about partnering with them again to provide a humbling and gratifying experience for our student-athletes. The trip to Tanzania was a huge success and an experience those students still talk about today. We want service trips to become a staple within the athletic department and we know our 13 student-athletes heading to Costa Rica will benefit from what we hope is a life-changing experience.”
The student-athletes had to apply for selection on the trip, including writing an essay and providing letters of recommendation. Soles4Souls Travel Manager Kelly Hoskins will again oversee the trip after leading the Tanzania trip. The venture begins on Saturday, when the team flies to San Jose, Costa Rica. The group will stay at a medical clinic and venture to five distribution centers in the surrounding area over the next seven days delivering shoes.
“We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with Vanderbilt athletics again,” Hoskins said. “Tanzania was a wonderful experience and we hope for the same type of success as we travel to rural Costa Rica this December! I am excited to introduce these athletes to entirely new communities, as well as our Costa Rican partners. I guarantee their lives will be changed in more ways than one!”
Based in Nashville and started in 2006, Soles4Souls is a global not-for-profit institution dedicated to fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty. The organization advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners, then distributing those shoes and clothes both via direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities.
Since it began, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 22 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries. Soles4Souls is committed to the highest standards of operating and governance, and holds a four-star rating with Charity Navigator. Please visit www.soles4souls.org for more information.
“A pair of shoes truly does make a difference in the communities Soles4Souls serves,” Hoskins said. “A new pair of shoes often provides the ability to attend school, help fend off diseases, or even assist in maintaining a job. Being able to show these athletes the simple impact shoes have is what these travel opportunities are all about.”
The following Vanderbilt student-athletes are expected to go on the Costa Rica trip:
Skyler Carpenter (Women’s Track)
Matthew Cleveland (Men’s Cross Country)
Jill Doherty (Lacrosse)
Megan Huebner (Women’s Cross Country/Track)
Taylor Hudson (Football)
Hannah Jumper (Women’s Cross Country/Track)
Shannon Morrish (Soccer)
Gabrielle Nesi (Lacrosse)
Baker Newman (Men’s Tennis)
Christiana Ogunsami (Soccer)
Mallory Schonk (Lacrosse)
Vanessa Valentine (Women’s Cross Country/Track)
Jake Van Geffen (Men’s Cross Country)