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LIVE Stepping up to help others A Year 10 student is doing her bit to ensure no one is left out of playing sport due to footwear. Maia Mariner started the Lazy Sneakers charity last year after noticing some of her teammates were unable to play sport because they didn’t have the right shoes. “I noticed a lot of my friends didn’t have the proper footwear when playing sport, whichmeant they couldn’t participate. I talked tomy parents, andwe thought we could help out the community by starting Lazy Sneakers,”Maia explains. The project works by asking people to donate sneakers that are still in good condition. They come through a collection point and are then distributed to different sports clubs aroundWellington to aidwould-be players in need of shoes. “So far, we have collected over 700 pairs and donated 500. It’smy aim this year to have us donating 1,000,”Maia says. Lazy Sneakers has been involvedwith sports clubs, includingWellington Basketball Association,Wellington Boxing GymandWellington Chinese and Cultural Sport, and Maia has plans to expand into Porirua andWainuiomata. A recent highlight was providing a Porirua school with over 50 pairs of sneakers. Another highlight for Maiawas being asked to speak about Lazy Sneakers at the 125th Anniversary Celebrations ofWomen’s Suffrage last year. She was later invited to an afternoon celebration at Government House. “I got tomeet somany inspirational women, and the event was attended by Prince Harry, Duke of Maia Mariner making a visit to donate over 50 pairs of sneakers to students in a school in Porirua. Sussex andMeghan, Duchess of Sussex,”she says. This year, Maiawill be completing a community project through the IB MiddleYears Programme and says she wishes tobroaden the scope of Lazy Sneakers as part of this. “The community project will be an opportunity for me to expand Lazy Sneakers into schools in addition to sports clubs. I want to start a collection point at QueenMargaret College for girls to contribute to the cause. “Working on Lazy Sneakers has been a really eye-opening experience for me because the issuewasn’t something I had ever really noticed before. Because it’s happening tomy friends, I’ve become aware of it and it’s taught me how I can help others.” 47 Queen Margaret Calling :: ISSUE 63 :: May 2019