Customers of Footwise Comfort Shoes give to Soles4Souls

What started as a simple shoe drive for one month has now grown into a year-round event. Orly Cohen, a certified pedorthist and owner of Footwise Comfort Shoes in Bellevue, started a shoe drive for Soles4Souls in early July.

A pedorthist is someone who has studied foot anatomy, shoe construction and has experience fitting shoes professionally. They design, manufacture, modify and fit shoes to alleviate problems caused by disease, congenital conditions, overuse or injury.

By the end of the month, Cohen had a couple hundred pairs of shoes donated through her store.

Customers donated by the bags full, leaving shoes piled in a Soles4Souls box that the store had set up near the cash register.

"We've had to empty that box four or five times," Cohen said. "We originally intended for the box to serve as a destination for people to place the shoes for donation, but a lot of our customers didn't even know we were doing the drive, so it's served as a good promotional tool as well."

Cohen sent out fliers to her customers advertising the drive earlier this summer. She had originally intended just to have the drive throughout the month of July, but because of its success, she's decided to do it year-round.

"I was not expecting this many donations," she added. "I am very pleased with the results, and I hope the donations will continue to come in."

Cohen heard about the Soles 4 Souls Foundation through her membership with the National Shoe Retailer Association.

"We didn't choose the foundation because it's local, but we like the connection," Cohen said. "Not only does this drive help people in need, but we also like the fact that it helps local Nashville business. You get when you give."

The store is planning to send its first shipment to Soles4Souls at the beginning of next month and then would be sent on a monthly basis. Soles4Souls is very happy to receive them.

"We've given to 35 different countries, but when the poverty level in Nashville is growing, we thought it was time to step up locally," Founder Wayne Elsey said. "Let's make sure that people here and in other cities in this country don't get forgotten. We just go out there and try to make a difference one pair at a time."