Raising Joy Podcast: Combating Education Inequities through the Power of Shoes
Listen to Episode 73 of the Raising Joy podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. The podcast is part of the JOY Campaign, which launched in April 2021 as a suicide prevention communication initiative and aims to reach parents through honest conversations about the mental well-being of children and teens.
What kind of impact can a single pair of shoes have on a child’s life? According to Sam Sayed, a medical student at the TCU Burnett School of Medicine, the impact can be life-altering. At least this was the case for his own life.
On this special episode of Raising Joy, Sam talks to us about his nonprofit, Dayna's Footprints, which he started with his brother Sharif Sayed. Their mission is, “To combat learning inequity by providing students shoes to wear proudly, subsequently increasing students’ self-esteem and enthusiasm for attending school.”
Sam tells shares his story of growing up underprivileged in Arlington, Texas, and how a pair of shoes gifted by his sister Dayna changed the trajectory of the brothers’ lives.
Watch their TedX talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_sharif_sayed_a_day_in_their_shoes/transcript
ABC News Story: https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-medical-student-back-community-free-shoes-nonprofit/story?id=105805418
Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.
New episodes of the Raising Joy podcast will be available each Tuesday. It is currently available on all major streaming platforms including Apple, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
About Cook Children's
Cook Children’s Health Care System embraces an inspiring Promise – to improve the health of every child through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, we’re proud of our long and rich tradition of serving our community. Our not-for-profit organization is comprised of nine companies, including our Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services Inc., Child Study Center and Health Foundation. With more than 60 primary, specialty and urgent care locations throughout Texas, families can access our top-ranked specialty programs and network of services to meet the unique needs of their child. For 100 years, we’ve worked to improve the health of children from across our primary service area of Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties. We combine the art of caring with leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child. This has earned Cook Children’s a strong, far-reaching reputation with patients traveling from around the country and the globe to receive life-saving pediatric care. For more information, visit cookchildrens.org.
