Three young girls are hoping to change the world, one pair of shoes at a time.

Mariah McDonald, McKenna Jennings, and Serena Ball, all 10 years old, recently went around their Victoria and Saanich neighbourhoods collecting shoes from peopleB次元官网网址檚 door steps.

The trio, who call themselves the Chocolate Covered Strawberries, were inspired to collect shoes for people in Africa after reading a story about a girl who did the same thing.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been reading about different countries and we were really drawn to Africa,B次元官网网址� McKenna said. B次元官网网址淲e wanted to help them.B次元官网网址�

The girls organized a shoe drive and asked friends, family and neighbours for help. To date, theyB次元官网网址檝e gathered more than 100 pairs of shoes.

B次元官网网址淓verybody really wanted to help us help them,B次元官网网址� Serena said.

The shoes will be shipped to Africa through the Compassionate Resource Warehouse, an organization that ships containers of supplies to different countries all across the world.

Sixty pairs of shoes, mostly sandals and dress shoes, have already been sent.

B次元官网网址淚 think everyone in North America, we look on ourselves and donB次元官网网址檛 really see how lucky we are,B次元官网网址� McKenna said.

B次元官网网址�(People in Africa) donB次元官网网址檛 have a lot of shoes, some of them donB次元官网网址檛 have any shoes. We really wanted to help them. We felt like we could help them, so (we asked ourselves) why are we not right now?B次元官网网址�

But the girls arenB次元官网网址檛 only collecting shoes.

Their next goal is to raise funds for Smile Train, an organization helping children born with cleft palates receive surgery.

The three girls, who are all home-schooled, say they plan to busk, or sing, outside of the JenningsB次元官网网址� family business, Jennings Florists on Estevan Avenue.

A donation box will be available at Jennings Florists for those wishing to help the Chocolate Covered Strawberries raise funds for Smile Train.