1) What does thriving mean to you?

To me, “thriving” is a state of mind and being. It’s a quiet confidence of believing that you can navigate life’s ups and downs with dexterity and flexibility.

2) What inspired you to start this movement?

In My Shoes was started from a needs-based perspective. I was coaching at a Girls’ Home and realized that the girls did not have proper footwear. I checked in with the organization and they had said it was common for this demographic to not have sport shoes. This really bothered me as I believe sport is for all, and yet there was a financial barrier to something as simple as running.

3) What has been the most fulfilling experience about this project?

For me it’s always seeing things come full circle, specifically in instances where we see our recipients participating at runs (e.g. Singapore Kindness Run/Standard Chartered Marathon) with the shoes we’ve given them, or when they come back as volunteers to pay it forward.

4) What would you say to someone who wants to contribute in a similar way?

Start small, start where you are, get to know the community and build from there. It doesn’t have to be a big thing to have a big impact!

5) How has it helped you personally?

Through In My Shoes, I’ve met so many inspiring individuals. Our work allows me to see just how amazing, generous and kind our community in Singapore is and can be and this inspires me.

6) What challenges did you face in starting this movement? How did you overcome it?

We had some challenges with the turn around for shoes. There were a few bottle necks with storage being one of them. At one point, the shoes were all being stored at my parents house, my bomb shelter, with the majority in my Co-Founder James’ spare bedroom. We’ve been very blessed to have the support from our friends Dzarrin and Nat at LushProtein who very kindly sponsored our storage space! It’s been such a big load off and it makes sorting and prepping orders so much easier.