Q&A with Emilie Erickson
Emilie recently joined our team as the Domestic Programs Coordinator, which means she has a hand in all of the shoe distributions that happen in the United States! She served with us in Greece several years ago, so was familiar with the organization. We asked her a few questions after her first few weeks here. See what she has to say:
Share a little bit about what a typical day at Samaritan’s Feet looks like for you.
A day at Samaritan’s Feet for me is mostly behind the scenes work for our domestic distributions. This could be reaching out to sponsors, submitting work orders for shoes, finalizing logistics in preparation for a distribution, or general information tracking. I also get to occasionally lead an event, especially if it's one here in North Carolina.
Describe how what you do on a daily basis impacts the overall mission of the organization.
The work that Katie (Domestic Programs Manager) and I do on a daily basis affects every distribution that happens in the United States. These distributions are the avenue at which most of our shoes are provided to recipients. Without domestic distributions, there wouldn't be any shoes provided within in the United States.
What’s your favorite part about working at Samaritan’s Feet?
My favorite part about working here is the people I get to work alongside. The team welcomed me with open arms from day one, and I'm incredibly grateful to work with kind, likeminded people every day.
Share one of your favorite memories serving with Samaritan’s Feet.
My favorite memory with SF was during my 2019 trip to Greece. I remember going to one of the neighborhoods to serve children who lived there and there was one little barefoot girl that hung on to me the entire time. I washed her feet, found a pair of shoes for her, and after she stood up and danced around in them, she cried. She was so happy to have shoes on her feet as she ran around and played. That was my solidification that I had to be involved with Samaritan’s Feet in the future. And here I am!
What are you most excited about for the future of the organization?
Since I work quite a bit with Senior shoe distributions, I'm excited to watch the senior population continue to be served in a large capacity.
