SOLE POWER

Students at Wagner Middle School are doing something about the millions of people around the world who lack shoes. Through Feb. 12, 6th graders at the East 76th Street middle school, between Second and Third avenues, are collecting gently worn pairs of shoes to benefit Soles4Souls, a Nashville, Tenn., charity. The organization has collected 5.5 million pairs of shoes that have been donated to needy people around the world. â??I wanted to get the 6th graders to recognize the importance of community service, said Robin Dansky, Wagner"s dean of students. â??I wanted to do something hands-on, and I was looking for ideas when I saw a report about Soles4Souls. At the beginning of February, Dansky said the students had collected more than 400 pairs of shoes, with donations coming primarily from classmates, teachers and families. The class that brings in the most shoes at the end of the drive will get a pizza party. Sixth grader Rosa Gomez, 11, said she donated four pairs of shoes and got her mother to ask her coworkers to bring in old sneakers. â??I"m helping people that need it and I"m thinking about people other than myself, Gomez said. According to Dansky, the shoe drive is part of a year-long program emphasizing community service, which included the adoption of a new school motto, â??Live to Learn, Dare to Care. The program will culminate May 16, when the 6th-grade class participates in the New York AIDS Walk. â??This has been a good opportunity to pay attention to people who don"t have the chance to get what they need, Dansky said. â??The kids have really taken this and run with it. They"ve done a great job, and I could not be prouder. For more information on the fundraiser, contact the school at 212-535-8610.