Worried about possible layoffs, school principal Michele Miller spotted a potential solution in her own home. The principal of Jackson Elementary in El Dorado Hills, a suburb east of Sacramento, Calif., decided to part with most of a shoe collection gathered over the past 15 years.

擔心學校可能得裁員，校長米雪兒．米勒在自己家裡找到一個可能的解決方案。身為加州首府沙加緬度東郊埃多拉多山傑克森小學校長，她決定捐出15年來收藏的大部分鞋子。

She is selling 285 pairs — which fill a room in her apartment — to help close a district budget gap of up to $2.2 million. She's asking for a donation of $1,000 a pair to help save the jobs of 17 teachers, three vice principals, library technicians and others.

她打算拍賣塞滿她公寓一個房間的285雙鞋，希望藉此幫助填補校區高達 220萬美元的預算缺口。她希望一雙鞋能募得1000美元捐款，以保住17名教師、3位副校長、圖書館管理員和校方其他人員的飯碗。

Miller felt the urge to act after leaving a late-night school board meeting recently, when she learned the district faces a budget deficit of no less than $1.4 million, and possibly much higher. “I came out of that meeting in a state of shock,” Miller told The Associated Press. “I kept thinking, ‘What do I have that I can sell?’”

最近在一次校董會會議結束後，米勒忽然覺得有必要採取行動，當時她聽說該校區正面臨不下140萬美元的預算赤字，而且赤字還可能更高。米勒告訴美聯社：「那次會議結束離開時，我十分震驚，我不斷思考：『我可以拍賣什麼東西？』」

She stayed up until 1 a.m. working out logistics to sell most of her 350 pairs of shoes. Volunteers are uploading photos of the size 7-7?high-tops, cowboy boots, leopard-print rain boots, sandals, platforms and high heels to a website, www.shoestotherescue.com, which went live by the end of March. For some of the shoes, Miller will post stories on her website about the memories she attaches to them.

她熬夜到凌晨1點，草擬拍賣350雙鞋中大部分的作業流程。志願幫忙的義工幫她把7號到7號半的半高統鞋、牛仔靴、豹紋雨鞋、涼鞋、麵包鞋和高跟鞋拍照上傳到網站www.shoestotherescue.com，這個網站3月底已經開始運作。其中某些鞋款，米勒在她網站上貼上相關故事，記述她個人和鞋子的相關點滴。

Heather Sacco is not only one of Miller's volunteers, but a Jackson Elementary school parent. Her son attended the school and is now in middle school while her daughter currently attends Jackson. “I applaud Michele for not standing on the sidelines and watching the funding evaporate from our schools,” Sacco said. “We've reached a point where we can't rely on the state to do what is right for schools.” Sacco built Miller's site promoting the shoe adoption and her husband put together the videos that are on the site.

海瑟．沙柯不只是米勒的義工之一，還是傑克森小學學生的家長。她兒子曾上該校，現在在中學就讀，而她女兒目前還上傑克森小學。沙柯說：「我要為米雪兒鼓掌，她沒有袖手旁觀，眼睜睜看著學校資金蒸發。我們已經達到一個臨界點，不能再靠州政府來搶救學校。」沙柯幫米勒架設網站，促銷女鞋認養活動，她丈夫則在網站上架設視頻。

The site also contains two videos in which Miller appeals to viewers to “adopt” her shoes. Neither saving the schools nor acquiring Miller's colorful shoes come cheap. A $1,000 donation at shoestotherescue.com will get you a pair of shoes of your choice, a hand-written story on the shoes' exploits and a customized adoption certificate. Miller wears a size 7 shoe, however, the shoes up for adoption range from a 6 ?to a size 8. “If I liked them, I'd either squeeze into them or wear two pair of socks,” Miller said. “They're my art form, but they're functional art.”

該網站目前有兩個影片，米勒藉此呼籲網友「認養」她的鞋子。但不管搶救學校或認購米勒多采多姿的鞋子都不便宜。到shoestotherescue.com捐1000美元，就可以任選一雙你喜愛的鞋子，隨鞋附贈手寫的故事和一張量身定製的認養證書。米勒穿7號鞋，但可供認養的鞋從6號半到8號不等。米勒說：「只要我看上眼的鞋子，要嘛硬塞進去，要嘛穿兩雙襪子墊腳。它們是我個人的藝術品味，但它們應該是功能性藝術。」

Miller described her shoes to The Sacramento Bee as gently used and relatively inexpensive. “They're not Jimmy Choos or Prada or Gucci or something like that,” she said. Miller said she has not received any orders for her shoes yet but is taking donations from those who want to help but don't need additional footwear.

米勒向《沙加緬度蜂報》表示，她平時一直小心保養，而且這些鞋子相對不貴。「它們不是Jimmy Choo 或Prada 或 Gucci等類似的名牌。」米勒說，她的鞋子迄今還沒有人下單，但已經收到那些有意伸出援手、但不需要再買鞋的人的捐款。

The website accepts tax-deductible donations through PayPal, which funnels the money to a district account set up for the eight-week fundraiser. Any money collected is designated specifically to help preserve at-risk jobs in the Rescue Union School District. Miller said she will pay for shipping herself, but might ask a local mail center to pitch in if orders take off.

該網站透過PayPal接受可扣抵稅額的捐款，PayPal國際網路線上金流公司可以把錢匯到8周募款活動所成立的校區帳戶。所有募集到的款項，都特別指定用來幫助保住「救援聯盟學區」朝不保夕的工作。米勒說，她會自行支付運費，但如果訂單太多，她可能會請當地郵政中心助一臂之力。

When asked about what he thought about this whole situation, Dixon High principal Mr. Chaidez said, “For her new idea, it's something innovative, she is thinking of a solution. If I had high heels, I would definitely donate them to Ms. Miller.”

當被問及對這整件事有何看法時，狄克森高中校長查德茲說：「她的新巧思倒是挺有創意的，她也是想找個出路。如果我有高跟鞋，我一定會捐給米勒女士拍賣。」

In this photo taken March 22, 2011, Michele Miller is shown in a room full of her shoes at her home in Calif. Miller will be selling 285 pairs of her shoes on-line with proceeds benefiting the Rescue Union School district where she is the principal of Jackson Elementary School. Principal Michele Miller hopes that her shoes can foot the bill to keep libraries open in her district. “I was thinking that this is really going to cut into our ability to provide for the kids,” she said.

在這張攝於2011年3月22日的照片中，米雪兒．米勒正在加州家中展示一屋子的鞋子。米勒將上網出售285雙鞋子，所有收益將捐出造福救援聯盟學區，她是該區傑克森小學校長。米勒校長希望，她的鞋子可以幫助出資維持圖書館開放。她說：「我當時只是認為，這真的可以盡一分心力，幫助孩子。」圖／美聯社