Layken Sanders

Layken Sanders - Tennessee
Nomination by Sheila Wilson
Photography by Carla Lynn Photography
Issue 49 of Inspiring Teens Magazine
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Nomination: Layken Sanders is an inspiring teen because she is a hardworking humanitarian who always strives to bring out the best in people. She has devoted 8 years of her life to being an ambassador of her favorite charity organization, Soles4Souls, where she has hosted many shoe drives and collected over 100,000 pairs of shoes for people in need. She is an advanced honors and AP straight A student, a member of student council and beta club, and the co-captain of her varsity football competition cheer team. Layken enjoys helping others and believes that a highlight of her life was going on a mission trip to Haiti. She is looking forward to her upcoming mission trip to Honduras. Layken Sanders is the definition of an inspiring teen.
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Photography by Carla Lynn Photography

​Tell us how you got involved with Soles4Souls. What is it and why is it so important to you?
When I was 8 years old, I decided to start collecting gently used shoes for Soles4Souls, instead of receiving birthday gifts. I was inspired by my older brother, Kelton, to accept donations instead of gifts because he started this trend in my family by collecting food for the food bank when he was 10. The idea for me to collect shoes came from researching local charities that I could be involved in, with my mom's help. I immediately fell in love with Soles4Souls and their mission. "At S4S, we turn unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunity, by keeping them from going to waste and putting them to good use – providing relief, creating jobs and empowering people to break the cycle of poverty."

How do you host your shoe drives? Where? Who gets involved? How long does it last? Those sorts of things.
I started by hosting shoe drives for my birthday every year. Then I started hosting shoe drives at my schools, for Beta Club, with my cheer teams, various churches, at pageants, 5Ks, girl scout troops, local businesses, my neighborhood, college sororities, sports teams, etc. I use social media, flyers, posters, announcements, community events, and word of mouth to get the word out about my shoe drives. It takes a lot of organization, commitment, and time to pull these drives off, but it has been so worth it.

Photography by Carla Lynn Photography

What do you love about having such a big leadership role in your community?
What I love most about having such a big leadership role in my community is inspiring other kids and young adults to also make the choice to better the world.

What inspiring things about you does your nomination not cover?
My nomination was so sweet! It covers my love of being an ambassador for Soles4Souls, my love of going on mission trips, my academics, and my leadership role on my competitive cheer team. I love to host community events to help others. I love to encourage others to be their best.

Tell us about your favorite mission trip you've been on so far.
My favorite mission trip was to Haiti. It was a life changing experience for me. Going to the local schools, orphanages, and villages to size the sweet kids for their brand-new pairs of shoes and spend time playing with them was a feeling that I will never forget. The happiness on all their faces is forever with me. Also, getting to meet 2 local women who participate in the Microenterprise program moved me to tears. This was one of the best experiences of my life.

Photography by Carla Lynn Photography

What is your competitive cheer life like?
I have been a competitive cheerleader for 7 years now, both All Star Cheer and school cheer. I have loved it so much for several reasons. The first being the feeling I get when my team and I are about to step on the mat to give our best performance. The second being the relationships formed with teammates and coaches that will truly last a lifetime. I also love the aspect of setting team goals that we are working together to achieve. We practice 3-5 days a week, have games, tumble clinics, and competitions. My favorite accomplishment as a team was my freshman year when my team placed 6th in the nation at Nationals in Orlando. This was such an amazing experience, especially because we were a brand-new school, brand new team, and the very first time this team competed at Nationals. So, to place 6th out of close to 70 teams in the nation was a huge accomplishment.

If you were to present a topic to a group of your peers, what would it be and why?
I would present the topic of Microenterprise. I could talk for a long time about how Microenterprise can change people’s lives for the better. I am passionate about the economic wellbeing of families all over the world.

Photography by Carla Lynn Photography

Tell us more about Microenterprise. What is it and how can it change people's lives for the better?
Soles4Souls says, "Women are earth-shakers, change-makers, and wrong-righters. But all too often, their contributions are overlooked or underappreciated. And in many parts of the world, women simply don’t get a chance to fulfill their potential. Through our micro-enterprise program, we empower women in developing countries to start and sustain small businesses through the sale of shoes." For women around the world to get the opportunity to provide sustainable income for their families by selling the used shoes that were donated, provides a huge economic impact for that family and their community. In turn, shoe companies donate brand new pairs of shoes to Soles4Souls, who then distribute the new shoes to children in need. It's just a wonderful program.

What was your photoshoot like with Carla Lynn Photography and what did you love most about it?
My photo shoot with Carla Lynn was a dream! Carla Lynn is one of the most genuine people I've ever met. She is all about instilling confidence in the teens that she works with. I especially loved that she set up a time to meet with me and get to know me before the actual day of the photo shoot. That made the shoot so much more fun.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
One of the best experiences in my life was getting flown out to New York City with my family to be on Good Morning America when they heard about my brother and I collecting shoes for Soles4Souls. At the time we were at 44,000 pairs collected and were trying to reach 50,000. When we were on the show DSW surprised us with not only donating 6,000 more pairs to help us reach our goal, but they also donated another 50,000 pairs of brand-new shoes! We were shocked and so excited!

Look for Layken in issue 49 of Inspiring Teens Magazine!

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