Christopher Yendt (centre), BUSU's vice-president of finance and administration, gets his shoes shined by Ibrahim Qureshi, BUSU's community involvement co-ordinator, and Kelly Butson, Shinerama co-ordinator. Butson is seeking out shoes in need of a shine for the Shinerama Shoe Shine Bonanza next week.

Kelly Butson has her shoe-shining technique down pat.

With a chalkboard eraser-sized shoe shine sponge in hand, the Shinerama co-rodinator for Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) can transform a pair of scuffed kicks into flashy footwear in a few seconds flat.

Butson is willing to prove it to as many people as possible next week during the Shinerama Shoe Shine Bonanza on July 24 and 25. For $50, faculty and staff can get their shoes shined by a Shinerama volunteer and get a photo taken in their gleaming footwear, all the while supporting Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

Butson’s even willing to shine an entire shoe collection, should someone feel their closet full of loafers, lace-ups or pumps needs some TLC.

“They’re welcome to do whatever they want,” Butson said. “We’ll shine them.”

The Shoe Shine Bonanza is one of several Shinerama events that BUSU holds throughout the year at Brock. An annual golf tournament is set for Aug. 23, along with a mini-Shine Day on Aug. 25 to serve as a warm-up to Shine Day on Sept. 7.

That’s when hundreds of Brock students hit the streets in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland and parts of west Niagara to wash cars, shine shoes and serve barbecued fare in exchange for donations for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. Butson hopes to raise $34,000.

In the meantime, though, she is trying to round up as many people for next week’s Shoe Shine Bonanza, an event BUSU is reviving after a few years’ hiatus from the Shinerama roster.

So far, 14 people have offered up $50 and their footwear, including faculty and staff at Brock, as well as local mayors, fire chiefs and other public figures.
But Butson’s goal is to recruit at least 20 people with dull footwear to the cause.

“That would be awesome,” she said. “I sent emails to over 1,000 professors and deans. I kind of went crazy.”

She’s even willing to shine shoes at a later date if the bonanza conflicts with a potential donor’s schedule.

“If they want to participate later, I will come whenever they want,” she said. “I will come in September if they want.”

For more information about the Shinerama Shoe Shine Bonanza or to schedule a shoe shine appointment, email shinerama@busu.net.