The Seretean Wellness Center is collecting 1,200 donated shoes for “Project 1,200,” a display representing the number of people who die daily from tobacco-related diseases. They have collected 500 shoes from dropboxes at locations including the Colvin Recreational Center, Kerr-Drummond Hall, Bennett Hall and the Service-Learning Volunteer Center in the Student Union.
Whether its stilettos or combat boots, Students can donate shoes and help tobacco users kick the habit.
The Seretean Wellness Center and University Health Services are collecting donated shoes for Project 1,200, a display meant to help OSU students stomp out tobacco use.
“In the U.S., one person dies every 72 seconds from a tobacco-related disease, which makes 1,200 people a day,” said Tia Redus, University Health Services health educator. “Project 1,200 will make that statistic more realistic for the community.”
The Seretean Wellness Center and University Health Services have been collecting donated shoes from students and faculty in six locations on campus.
They will spread shoes out across Library Lawn, symbolizing the 1,200 lives lost every day because of tobacco products, Redus said. The display will be shown April 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Yvon Fils-Aime, tobacco health educator for University Health Services, said the display will be a wake-up call to OSU students and faculty.
“Most of the time, students don’t really realize how big the number of deaths really is,” he said. “With the display, they will realize the evils caused by tobacco.”
The project has successfully collected 500 pairs of shoes at several dropboxes throughout campus, Fils-Aime said. In order for the display to be complete, 700 more pairs of shoes are needed before April 2.
Kendria Cost, marketing director at the Seretean Wellness Center, said students and faculty who wish to donate shoes can take them to one of the dropboxes at the Colvin Recreation Center, Kerr-Drummond Hall, Bennett Hall, Seretean Wellness Center, University Health Services, Adams Market or the Service-Learning Volunteer Center in the Student Union.
After the display, the shoes will be donated to the Salvation Army, Redus said.
Fils-Aime said, along with the shoes, 500 to 700 messages from students and faculty who have lost loved ones to tobacco-related diseases will be displayed on Library Lawn.
Because OSU has an objective to become one of the healthiest campuses in America, students and faculty must take responsibility for their tobacco use, Fils-Aime said.
“We want to create a better place for students to live and to learn,” he said.
Jeffrey Parr, a marketing junior, said he plans to donate some of his old shoes to Project 1,200. He thinks the display will motivate tobacco users to quit, he said.
“Anything done to lessen the negative impact of tobacco on the public will improve the health and well-being of the American people as a whole,” Parr said.
The event is also being used as a way to start next year’s campuswide tobacco ban, Redus said.
For more information on Project 1,200, the effects of tobacco or how to stop using tobacco, e-mail Fils-Aime at yvon.fils-aime@okstate.edu, or to receive free coaching to help quit using tobacco, call the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-784-8669.
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