THEY HAD no money for shoes and no money for school uniforms. Thus, Salomon joined his father at work on the family farm.

While laboring in the fields, the 14-year-old boy was bitten in the foot by a coral snake. He was rushed to the hospital but antivenom treatment cost $2,000 and, again, the family had no money. Salomon died in El Salvador in February 2008 — had he been wearing boots or tennis shoes instead of sandals, he probably would still be alive.

When R.J. Rovner of Blackhawk heard this sad story about the nephew of a family friend, he was a senior at Bentley High School in Lafayette. He and three other students, including his sister, Alexis, were inspired to form an organization called One Size Fits All to collect closed-toe shoes to send to El Salvador.

R.J., now 19, is a student at Diablo Valley College; Alexis, 24, is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley; Erika Rothschild, 20, of Walnut Creek, and Shaun Collins, 19, are also students at Diablo Valley College.

In October, One Size Fits All received about 400 pairs collected by Girl Scout Troop 32219 at Tassajara Hills Elementary School near Blackhawk.

A week before the shoe drive, R.J. and Alexis had gone to a Girl Scout meeting to tell the seven fifth-graders about their organization. The girls posted signs at school and also held some up during school drop-off and pickup times to alert parents to the collections.

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After the shoe drive, the scouts sorted the gently-used shoes and paired them by tying the laces or banding them together.

"The girls were really excited to see some new shoes, too, and happy that so many people would benefit from the collection," Kirsten said.

Another 100 pairs were collected by a group of about 45 women who run together as Team Harmony. Kirsten headed up the shoe donations for this group, and said they also collected $140 to help with shipping costs.

"They helped us out an unbelievable amount — it's unreal," said R.J. "So far, we partnered up with a doctor in the Bay Area who started free clinics for women and children in Guatemala. We're distributing shoes there and our ultimate goal is to get more shoes to El Salvador."

If you would like to donate shoes, contact R.J. and he will arrange a pickup time. He can be reached at rrover@1sizefitsall.org or 925-786-0256. To donate money for shipping shoes, send checks payable to One Size Fits All, 9000 Crow Canyon Road, #S-191, Danville, CA, 94506.

BLACKHAWK REPUBLICAN WOMEN, Federated invites you to attend a presentation by Donald Max Noel on domestic terrorism to be held at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at Blackhawk Country Club. A 31-year veteran FBI agent, Noel worked on high-profile investigations such as the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, the investigation of the Weathermen and the disappearance of Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa. He received the state Attorney General's award for Distinguished Service for work on the Unabomber case.

The $25 cost includes hors d'oeuvres. Reservations should be made by Nov. 3; call 925-820-6452 for details.

Reach Georgia Lambert at arounddanville@yahoo.com.