A Rockland County teenager is working to help young athletes around the world get the footwear they need to participate in sports.

Twyla Dawson-Hollis, a junior at the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge, has collected nearly 200 pairs of athletic shoes like cleats and sneakers, since launching the ReRun Sneaker Drive last spring.

The donated sneakers are being sent to a Chicago-based nonprofit, Share Your Soles, which distributes footwear to areas in need, including Costa Rica, where she says there has been a specific request for more soccer cleats.

"I feel like I've learned a lot of valuable lessons from being in sports and I want every kid to have the same opportunity to do so. And not having the proper footwear should stop them from doing that," Dawson-Hollis said.

Dawson-Hollis has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the cost of shipping the shoes to Chicago.