Pike High School boys basketball coach Paul Spoljaric listened to the emotion in the voice of IUPUI's Ron Hunter as he talked about bringing more than 100,000 pairs of shoes to under-privileged children in Peru last year.

Hunter had coached a game barefoot for Samaritan's Feet and Spoljaric realized he was in a position to help.

Pike Township schools are collecting shoes through Wednesday's game against Carmel at 7:30 p.m. and Spoljaric will be one of more than 300 coaches across the country participating in the effort this year, according to The Associated Press.

"For me, it's an hour and 45 minutes. From what coach Hunter saw in Peru, that's how they live," said Spoljaric, who has Hunter's son, R.J., a freshman, in his program. "It's something to promote a good cause. To (go barefoot) for a game, that's nothing. There, people travel without shoes whether they're little kids or older adults."

All Pike Township schools will be collecting lightly worn shoes of all types and sizes during regular business hours or they can be brought to Wednesday's game. Hunter will speak at halftime. Spoljaric did not know how many shoes had been collected so far.

Spoljaric has not tried going barefoot in practice to prepare for the experience but believes he'll get lost in the game once it starts and won't be concerned about his lack of shoes.

"There's a close relationship with Ron and it's an incredible cause," Spoljaric said. "I thought it would be something great for us to do."