A former Criminal Justice NJCU Alumni, Daniel Aguilar, is a committee member for Walk A Mile N Our Shoes, a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Jersey City, NJ, dedicated to supporting local homeless and low-income populations by providing essential items such as clothing, shoes, and water. Founded in 2019, the organization strives to cultivate impactful and ongoing relationships within the community, aiming to make a direct change by supporting those less fortunate with life’s basic necessities. I had the chance to talk with Daniel about the importance of serving local communities with the organization and more on his experience during and after his time at NJCU.
Justin: Daniel, thank you so much for taking the time and for joining us.
Daniel: Yeah, no problem. I really love enjoying all these interviews and giving you some insight as to who I am and what I do.
Justin: Can you tell us a little about your background and journey to becoming involved with Walk A Mile N Our Shoes?
Daniel: So back in 2020, I joined a fraternity on campus, which is Psi Sigma Phi Multicultural Fraternity Incorporated, and through Psi Sigma Phi, I was able to connect with my frat brother Eugene, who is the CEO and founder of Walk A Mile N Our Shoes. So, Gene had a vision of, you know, trying to make this an official 501c3 nonprofit, something big, something that is a resource to help those in need. So, he kind of came with me to this vision, was like, hey, like, I could really use you to help me fulfill this vision, along with quite a few other people. And throughout time, we just kept doing what we had to do. We were just, you know, serving the community, giving clothes, shoes and care bags to the homeless populations in different parts of New Jersey. For example, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, South Plainfield, and we just kept going and going until we grew to make Walk A Mile what it is today. That was my journey. It was a very, very awesome journey, you know, we’re still growing to this day, like, it’s going to continue to grow. So, I gotta continue to put my best foot forward.
Justin: What influenced you to join the organization, and how has your role as a committee member evolved over time?
Daniel: So, what motivated me to be a committee member was that Eugene came to me with this vision. And I honestly thought it was the coolest thing ever. I thought what he was doing was awesome, and that was something that I felt like I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to continue to push, you know, push the message as to what Walk a Mile is and what we like to do. I wanted to push the message. And just being a committee member, you have many responsibilities, like showing up to a service, getting donations or spreading the word. Essentially, over time, it evolved because we are getting more volunteers. So, you know, it’s just a matter of delegating tasks, taking pictures and videos, getting content for social media, and keeping up with our followers, letting them know all our events, like it’s kind of just evolves into more things to do. Because as you grow as a nonprofit, there are more things to do to fulfill. But as we grow, there are more committee members like me, and the responsibilities are delegated. However, you know, like I said, as you grow more, there are more things to you.
Justin: What is the backstory behind the organization name, Walk A Mile N Our Shoes?
Daniel: So, with Walk A Mile N Our Shoes, we see it as we do things like we understand each other, through shared experience. Like, you gotta walk, you know, you gotta understand that you gotta put yourself in another person’s shoes to truly understand what they’re going through, like, you know, you’re walking a mile on their shoes and they’re walking a mile on your shoes, hence the name. Walk A Mile N Our Shoes, that’s how essentially what got its name and think of it like, okay, you know, we’re all putting our best foot forward to just serve the community the best way we can.
Justin: Now, the organization has always talked about the importance of giving back and serving the less fortunate communities. What does community service mean to you?
Daniel: So, I’m just going to go into a little bit of a backstory, so I grew up 25 years in Jersey City, New Jersey, right? Just for a little bit of background, you know, I didn’t grow up with very much. However, there are people who don’t have anything at all. And I remember giving back to the community at such a young age, like, with the community center where I live or other nonprofits. That’s all I know because I have been doing that for such a long time, because we don’t have much sometimes, but we definitely have more than other people. Some people really don’t have anything when they are less fortunate, and it’s very humbling. It’s very humble to see that, and when you see that, you just want to do your best to help. Put your best foot forward and kind of just giving back to the people, because, you know, I see that as what you receive in life, you must give back, right? You get clothes, you get food, some people don’t have that. So, it’s good to give back because you see what it does for them. You see that you made an impact. I love to make an impact because it makes you feel really good, it makes you feel warm inside because they come up to you after service and they tell you, thank you so much, we really appreciate everything you’ve done. They’re so grateful, they’re so happy, and it just makes you feel good, like I did a good thing too.
Justin: What are some of the biggest challenges the organization faces in addressing the issues it focuses on?
Daniel: So, being able to be in more than one place at a time. Because we do want to try to serve as many people as possible. However, you can only do so much in a certain amount of time. Like, if you could be everywhere at one time, it would be great. If I could be in Newark, Jersey City, Camden, everywhere at the same time, it would be great. But to address that, we are expanding, we’ve found ourselves expanding to different places, like Baltimore, we do have a South Jersey region. So, we are looking to expand in different places. That’s kind of what we’re doing to address that issue of, okay, we’re trying to be in multiple places at once, so that way we want to service more people. That’s how we’re addressing that issue.
Justin: How does the organization engage with the community and create meaningful impact?
Daniel: So, we engage with the community in a way where we ask them, okay, like, what do you want us to do next? What are you guys in need of? We just go around, scope the areas, hear what they have to say because we believe that people’s voice is very important, and we want to make sure that they’re getting what they need. So, engaging with the community, trying to see how we can help. Also, we do partnerships with other organizations to see what they’re doing and help them out as they assist us as well.
Justin: Can you share a success story or a moment that stands out from an event?
Daniel: One success story would be one of our recent Newark services. So, we went around advertising that we were going to go to a certain spot. We advertised that we were going to give out food, clothes, shoes. We would go around and just put flyers everywhere. We would go into random stores and be like, hey, we’re going to give back at this place at this time. It was Lincoln Park in Newark. We went to different stores; we went to different people all around. We’re like, hey, we’re going to be giving back on this day and this time. And then, they would spread the word, and as our job as committee members, or people part of WalkAMile, we would go around and ask for volunteers like, hey, we’re going to be doing service here, you should come out. The turnout was huge. It was a rainy day, we thought no one was going to show up because you know, when it’s raining, no one wants to be outside, right? However, that wasn’t the case. We definitely served quite a large number of people, because I remember my fellow committee member, Juan, he made food, and all the food that he made was gone, and went quick. So, that’s kind of what was a successful service. We were able to serve quite a lot of people, and they were very, very thankful, and kept spreading the word. It’s like one person came and was like, thank you for everything you do for every person. Three people came and so on and so forth, so you can imagine how many people came, so, that was a very successful service. I was very happy with the turnout and the result.
Justin: What has been the most rewarding part of working with Walk A Mile N Our Shoes?
Daniel: Just the impact. The impact that it has on the community. You see that you’re making the community a better place, and I think that’s awesome, you know, communities really do need this. People do need this. And it’s awesome that we’re able to do something like this, so, that way they’re happy and they’re able to sustain themselves in some type of a way. You know, I say it as, pay it forward, even if it’s the smallest thing, give it back, you know.
Justin: As an NJCU alumni, what was your experience like during and after your time at the university and what skills you have accomplished after?
Daniel: During my time at the university, I would say that I did meet a lot of people. I met a lot of different people that taught me a lot of different things, or I would learn different experiences that other people went through, and I would bond with them through shared experiences. And through that, I would make different connections, like, for example, my frat brother Eugene, the CEO of WalkAMile. I was able to learn better networking skills, better public speaking skills because a lot of the things in life require that, for example, if you are in the field that I’m trying to pursue, Criminal Justice, right? You have to do a lot of public speaking and be able to talk to certain individuals. Like I think it’s an important skill, especially, while doing community service, you have to engage with the people you are serving, and you gotta engage with other partners that you may partner with. So, those are all skills I learned in college and that I utilize to this day, like even outside in the real world, I utilize all the skills that I’ve learned here.
Justin: As a brother of Psi Sigma Phi, how has being a brother influenced your personal and professional growth?
Daniel: So, being a brother, I think it’s awesome because I see it as, okay, these are all individuals with shared goals and shared interests. We all come from different places because we’re a multicultural fraternity, but not so different, we go through similar experiences. So, personally, it’s helped me grow because a lot of the time, my brothers like to help me grow as a person, like they keep me accountable for the things I do, or they push me to be a better version of myself. And I think that is the best support system someone can have come from in and out of college, right? I think that it is awesome that I have a rose that kept me accountable, a rose that motivated me, for example, I was like, oh, I think I might want to pursue a job in criminal justice, or I want to do a case where they would encourage me. They would be like, oh, I think that’s awesome. Like you should do this, you should do that, you should put this on your resume. They would try to connect me to different resources that I can utilize, and, personally, they have helped me see the best in myself and get me to see myself in a more positive light. As opposed to what it was, maybe when I was younger, because when I was younger, I didn’t see a lot of things they saw in me, and they saw a lot of potential in me, and they pushed me to be that type of person to bring out my potential. Professionally, it’s helped me, because as I stated prior, you have a large network. Brothers do different things. They’re brothers in all different types of fields. So, then you meet a brother and they tell you about their job or you know a brother that knows somebody in that job that you’re looking for, or in that field that you’re looking to get into, and it kind of just all lapses and it all just falls into place and you even broaden your network, even after you get a job, like you brought in your network, you meet other people and then, it opens doors for more opportunities.
Justin: Are there any lessons from your time at the university that you applied to your work with the nonprofit?
Daniel: Definitely punctuality, being punctual. Definitely being able to talk network. Like those are some skills that I was able to learn from the university that I’m able to still utilize in the nonprofit. Definitely public speaking skills, throughout, like, you know, all the presentations that I’ve done, the events that I help throw on campus, definitely helped me to become the person I am today and help out with the nonprofit, those are the skills I utilize, for sure.
Justin: What were your goals when you initially started with the organization and what future goals did you hope to accomplish?
Daniel: Some goals that I had early on being a part of WalkAMile, was kind of left my mark and being able to see how else we can serve other people. Future goals would be more expansion, kind of, helping with the expansion, for example, if I ever move to a different place, or if I know people who live in a different state or a different place, kind of just help them start WalkAMile over there. So, that way we have more people knowing who we are as an organization, that’s kind of like more of a long-term goal. Maybe expand to the other side of the U.S., that’s essentially the goal. Probably in the next five to ten years, because we are growing. We’re continuously growing, we’re looking to grow, and I think that’s awesome.
Justin: Can you share any upcoming community initiatives and special outreach events we can expect?
Daniel: Yeah, so we are doing a Liberty Mutual service in May, definitely keep it on the lookout for that. We’re going to also be tabling at the AIDS Walk in Newark and the Lupus walk. For more information, you can definitely check our social media, which on Instagram, we are @walkamilenourshoes. We have LinkedIn, you can find us on TikTok, you can find us on Facebook, basically all social media platforms, Walk A Mile N Our Shoes. You can tap in to see what other events that we have coming. But those are all the events that I have listed that are coming up. So, stay tuned for more.
Justin: How can people support Walk A Mile N Our Shoes?
Daniel: You can definitely volunteer for our services. That is highly recommended, if you see a flyer, and you see that we are going to be in, for example, like Newark, or Jersey City, right? If you see the date and the time, definitely come through, definitely volunteer. Any type of volunteering would help. Also, donating clothes, lightly worn clothes, shoes to us, in our cause, we can get that from you, or you can drop it off to us at our drop-off location. You can also spread the word on social media or word-of-mouth, get people to follow us, so that way they know more. And you can visit our website, which is walkamilenourshoes.org.
Justin: What advice would you give to future Greek life members, undergraduate students and graduate students who want to get involved and volunteer in nonprofit work?
Daniel: Explore. Talk to people. Get to network. Ask questions. And it’s good to be curious, you know. Definitely try to like, you know, explore, like, if it wasn’t for me exploring, then I would have never been where I’m at. And, you know, you could meet different types of people, and you know, join cool organizations like the one I’m part of.
