​Dozens of shoes collected by a Prince Philip Grade 1 class have travelled across the globe to find new use on the feet of children in Africa and some deserving recognition for the students.

Teacher Kellie Bell recently received a recognition award from BioPed to thank the students from her 2015-16 Grade 1 class for their contribution toward the goal of collecting 100,000 gently used shoes to help people in need worldwide.

Students in Mrs. Bell's class read the book New Old Shoes by Charlotte Blessing during the last school year. Inspired by the book, the students decided they wanted to be global citizens and help children in Africa by sending gently used shoes.

Families were asked to donate their used shoes and just five days later the students and their families had collected a total of 121 pairs that were shipped free of change in late June thanks to a commitment by WestJet.

The class also wrote thank you notes to the staff at WestJet for their role in supporting the project.