Claire Baker, 15, a sophomore at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, recently took an eye-opening trip to Haiti made possible by her shoe collection drive.

She was surprised to see that despite the island nation's deep poverty, "you could tell the people were proud of who they are and where they live," she said. "They're fighting back, trying to get back to what they had before the earthquake."

Baker, who lives in Maple Grove, got the chance to visit in mid-September through Soles4Souls, a nonprofit shoe charity that's based in Nashville, Tenn. She had participated in a contest from Soles4Souls earlier this year, to collect shoes for people in Haiti. The grand prize was a trip to the Caribbean country.

With 24,000 pairs of shoes collected, good for second place, the organization recognized her for "lifetime achievement." Baker started collecting shoes while in seventh grade, for a school project after the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. She has taken in 34,000 pairs for the cause.

In Haiti, shoes not only are important for the obvious reasons, but they're required for children going to school, where some may get their only meal of the day, Baker said.

She and her mom Pam, who accompanied her to Haiti, helped distribute 500 pairs of shoes during the week.

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Provided by Claire Frances Baker Claire Frances Baker playing soccer in Haiti at the center where she was staying.

"What I loved most were the smiles on kids' faces when they got shoes that fit," Claire said. The children thanked them in French.

It made her think "about how much I have and how little that they have," she said. It "will make me think before buying something, 'Do I really need this or is it just convenient?'"

Also during the trip, she got to do some sightseeing and even played soccer with children her age. "Haiti was so cool," she said. "I can't wait to go back again."

David Graben, executive vice president and interim CEO for Soles4Souls, said the organization has been impressed with Baker's efforts, especially given her age. "If we counted all of the shoes she had collected before the contest, it was well past any other in the challenge ever," he said.

About the trip, Graben said, "It was amazing to see Claire grow during that time, and a privilege for me to witness it."

For more information about Claire Baker's project, go to clairefrancesshoecollector.blogspot.com.

To learn more about trips to Haiti through Soles4Souls and other programs, go to giveshoes.org.