Henry Janosick, a rising senior at Falmouth High School, is collecting sneakers this summer to raise money to buy emergency preparedness kits for every classroom. Contributed
FALMOUTH — Schools face a lot of challenges these days, including threats to student safety.
So Henry Janosick, who will be a senior at Falmouth High School in the fall, has launched a project designed to raise enough money to buy emergency preparedness kits for each classroom and public space at the school.
His goal is to collect at least 6,000 pairs of sneakers.
The shoes will be sent to Got Sneakers, a Miami, Florida-based organization keeps sneakers and other footwear out of landfills by re-purposing them for people living in impoverished regions of Central and South America and West Africa, among other places.
Got Sneakers says that every year 200 million pairs of shoes and sneakers end up in U.S. landfills. Meanwhile, more than 600 million people worldwide don’t own even one pair of shoes.
For every pair of shoes that Janosick sends to Got Sneakers he’ll earn $1.
In addition to buying emergency preparedness kits, Janosick also hopes to raise enough for high school staff to receive training from the group citizenAID North America.
The nonprofit, based in Granville, Ohio, helps people save lives between the time someone is wounded and the time professional medical care arrives, according to its website.
Each wall-mounted unit from citizenAID contains eight emergency kits. Each kit includes a tourniquet, gauze, gloves, pressure dressing, trauma sheers, antiseptic wipes and other items.
Janosick is placing donation boxes around town this summer and said he hopes people in Falmouth will be willing to part with shoes of all sizes to support his effort.
Starting June 30, donors can drop off their sneakers and shoes – new, used or unwearable – at all three fire stations in town. Other collection sites include Bangor Savings Bank and Super Scoops Ice Cream, both on Route 1, and Skillins Greenhouses and Town Landing Market, both on Foreside Road.
“Current events inspired me to look at school safety at my own school,” Janosick said this week. “Data shows providing basic triage from the time (a person is wounded) until emergency help arrives can mean the difference between life and death.”
“With some basic triage supplies, lives can be saved,” he added. “You don’t need to be a medical professional to use the contents of the safety kits” from citizenAID.
Janosick said he did a lot of research before moving forward. He collected data on the various types of safety kits available and spoke with officials at a Wisconsin school district, which had successfully installed safety kits and provided training to staff.
“I decided this would be beneficial for Falmouth High School. I created a proposal and presented my ideas to the principal, school nurse and the FHS safety committee,” Janosick said. “They agreed it was a terrific plan and gave me the go-ahead.”
His hope is that successful implementation of the initial emergency preparedness project at the high school will serve as a model for Falmouth Elementary and Falmouth Middle schools.
After high school, Janosick hopes to study journalism and communications. He’s a member of the high school debate team and golf team, and plays trumpet in the concert band.
The endeavor will serve as his capstone project, which every senior at Falmouth High School must complete. Projects are designed to provides a significant benefit either to the school or the wider community.
“I saw an opportunity to make a positive contribution to my school community,” Janosick said. “Adding these kits to the school, along with the training, will make the school more prepared. Long term, I would love to see it become a state mandate that safety kits be required in every school.”
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