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Community Involvement
Walking in Our Shoes
Move over, Jimmy Choo, the talented students at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising of Orange County (FIDM) are hot on your heels.
It all started with the desire to do something good for those in need in these troubled economic times. From there, it grew and grew and grew…into a shoe. A shoe with a dual purpose – to benefit the Food Bank of Orange County as well as Breast Cancer Network of Strength. To say that the project met both of its goals would be an understatement.
Let’s roll the film back and see how it all began.
Each year, as part of its Canstruction project, the Society of Design Administration holds a national design/build competition open to teams of architects, engineers and design students who submit their creations of giant structures made entirely from full cans of non-perishable food products. These structures are then displayed for public viewing in each city where a competition is held. Since the inception of Canstruction, ten million pounds of food have been donated to aid in the fight against hunger.
For their project, FIDM students chose to heel hunger by putting their best foot forward. Thus was born the shoe sculpture. The concept, unanimously applauded by her fellow students, faculty and staff, was the brainchild of student Nicole Wright who did not know when she suggested the shoe structure that she would be spending her 19th birthday, alongside her fellow students at South Coast Plaza in Orange County from 10 pm on one evening until 8 am the next day, mired in glue and tape and paint and ribbons and CANS…lots and lots of cans. But pink cans? Yes, pink cans. Once Nicole learned about the pink Bumble Bee Tuna cans promoting Breast Cancer of Strength, she knew that’s what she wanted to use.
Wondering why you have been unable to find Bumble Bee tuna cans at your local supermarket lately? Well, now you know…over 4000 of them were used in the construction of the shoe – each can bringing with it a donation to Breast Cancer Network of Strength as part of Bumble Bee’s sponsorship commitment to our organization – a win-win-win-win for all involved.
We applaud EVERYONE involved in this project for their creativity and sense of community spirit, especially the students at FIDM for choosing to make a difference in the lives of many who are helped by Breast Cancer Network of Strength services as well as those in need of a helping hand from their local food bank.