Soles4Souls to Partner with K.I.D.S.

Soles4Souls has announced that they will be partnering with Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) to distribute 325,000 pairs of new shoes in five American cities during National Barefoot Week. Soles4Souls has planed a series of nationwide events to be held June 1-7, 2008.

"National Barefoot Day" will take place on Sunday, June 1, with distribution events, walkathons, marathons, benefits, and retail trade-in events across the country. Each year, Barefoot Week will be held during the first week of June. Thousands of churches, civic groups and retailers will act as collection points in the weeks prior to and during Barefoot Week.

"During Barefoot Week we hope to draw attention to the over 300 million children worldwide who have never owned a pair of shoes," said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls. "Barefoot Week allows Americans to personally participate in a nationwide call to action while reducing the strain on our landfills at the same time."

During this year's Barefoot Week, the charity will donate more than 325,000 pairs of new shoes to needy people in five cities: Miami (June 2), Chicago (June 3), Atlanta (June 4), New Orleans (June 5), and Flagstaff, Arizona (June 6) near the Hopi and Navajo Indian Reservations.

K.I.D.S. will work with local social service agencies in each of these cities to ensure that the shoe distributions are directed to those children most in need. The agencies partner with K.I.D.S. throughout the year to provide new items to children.

"The opportunity to work with Soles4Souls in addressing the needs of children throughout the country is a significant one for Kids in Distressed Situations," said Rick Schaub, K.I.D.S. Chairman. "The five cities that are being targeted have tremendous needs and providing footwear is critical in making their children functional," he said.