Barb Potts (left), King Kamehameha III School PCNC Claire Tillman and George Walter collaborated on a successful slipper-collection drive.

LAHAINA – George Walter, a relative newcomer to Lahaina, recently conducted a campaign to collect slippers for students at King Kamehameha III Elementary School.

Walter, a realtor with Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, turned to other local realtors to help him restock the school office with footwear.

The slippers are kept there so that any student whose slipper breaks can pick up another and finish the school day.

Walter said, “I was looking for something in Lahaina I could do to be involved with the community. I remembered the Realtors Wishing Well for Maui Students program. My children, Micah and Seth, go here to Kamehameha III, so I called Claire Tillman, the PCNC (Parent Community Networking Center facilitator). She said they have what they need – school supplies – but then she said, ‘We could use some slippers.’ “

Walter called Sarah Sorenson of Whale’s Tail Realty, the founder of the Wishing Well program. “She said,” Walter explained, “‘The first thing you need to do is call Barbara Potts.’ ” He called, and with her support, launched his campaign.

Depending on one flyer and word of mouth, the campaign took place in September. There were three drop-off points: Lahaina Yacht Club; Hang Loose Hammocks, where Walter’s friends Bob and Sarah Jones are the proprietors; and the Aloha Realty Group office in Dickenson Square.

“It went extremely well,” Walter reported after four weeks. “We collected around 100 pairs and some odds and ends.”

Plans are being made to repeat the campaign, maybe on a quarterly basis.