Later this month, three freshmen students from STEM @ Cleveland’s School of Life Sciences (SoLS) academy will be traveling to Guatemala to spread the word on the prevention of ascaris, a type of roundworm that infects humans, and they need your help.

The worms are typically transmitted when the eggs or lavae in the soil get into a person’s mouth or skin, so the students – Shanteria Wright, Hanna Rossen and Adam Gruenbaum – are asking the community to donate their gently-used flip flops or Crocs, which they will then deliver to patients at several clinics in Guatemala. A donation box is currently set up at the school’s main office (5511-15th Ave. S.) on Beacon Hill.

The students will be visiting medical clinics in Monterico, a small beach town where intestinal worms and other health issues are a major concern. They will present information to the community about how a low-cost solution, such as wearing footwear, can drastically reduce ascaris and other worm infections.