Charity with Soul Steps Forward to Claim Shoes

January 5, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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shoes_1.jpgIf you’ve read this blog in the past you probably know that I visited Haiti last year and saw the desperate conditions under which so many are living. You may have also read my previous post talking about Soles4Souls , a wonderful organisation that provides shoes for those in need around the world.

Today I heard that Soles4Souls has stepped forward to collect the thousands of shoes mysteriously dumped on a Miami highway. They’ll then send them to the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Great news.

The start of the New Year turned ugly for many commuters in Miami on Friday, when drivers were delayed by several thousand pairs of shoes littering the highway. Nashville-based shoe charity Soles4Souls contacted the Florida Highway Patrol and offered to immediately collect the shoes on behalf of needy people it supports, both here in the United States and around the world.

“These shoes are abandoned property and we’re happy that Soles4Souls can make good use out them,” said Lt. Pat Santengelo of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Soles4Souls Founder and CEO, Wayne Elsey, said the sight of thousands of abandoned shoes was a stark reminder of how many shoes are tossed into American landfills. “Too many perfectly good shoes are thrown away each year, and it’s a shame,” he said. “Soles4Souls is dedicated to keeping usable footwear out of our landfills and putting them on the feet of needy people around the world,” he said.

Some great news to start the year.

If you want to help Soles4Souls in their great work you can visit their website and donate directly.



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A Challenge to Put Your Best Foot Forward

November 10, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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50 000 Shoes in 50 DaysI just bought two pairs of shoes for only $5 and you can too.

Soles4Souls is an international charity which is dedicated to providing free footwear to people in desperate need.

Today marks the launch of a new fundraising website, 50000shoes.com and they’re challenging bloggers and social media users to raise funds for 50,000 pairs of new shoes in 50 days.

The challenge begins today, Monday the 10th of November 2008 and will end on the final day of 2008.

Soles4Souls Founder and CEO, Wayne Elsey says that by tapping into existing networks they hope to achieve a critical mass and see their goal reached.

“We have been utilizing the basic Web-based marketing tools such as e-mail blasts, social networking and YouTube videos. However, this website, 50000shoes.com, is the natural evolution of our viral marketing plan. A strong grass-roots effort, combined with an effective web-based social marketing platform, will allow Soles4Souls to form online community in a creative manner while being effective with raising funds and helping those in need.”

Donating is easy and takes just a click and a couple of minutes. It requires no shipping, no wrapping and no trips to the post office. The donation is small with $5.00 buying two pairs of new shoes. Anyone can click and give. I’m not asking you to do something I wouldn’t do myself. I’ve just donated and I’m asking that you do the same by visiting 50000shoes.com.

After 50,000 pairs have been donated, one person from the US (with a guest of their choosing) will be selected at random to deliver the shoes they purchased to someone in need on one of Soles4Souls’ trips to Mexico!

Nashville based Soles4Souls facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Since its inception, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 3.5 million pairs (or one pair every 23 seconds) to people in 61 countries, including Honduras, Romania, Thailand, and the Sudan.



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