Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Local Teen Collects Shoes for the Needy

Andie Davidson collects shoes of all styles and donates them to the Soles4Souls charity that donates the shoes worldwide to disaster victims, the homeless and domestic abuse shelters.

LEAWOOD, Kan. – A Blue Valley North High School Junior, Andie Davidson, worries about children around the world who've never had shoes. So, she's trying to help by collecting gently-used shoes of all styles to donate to Soles4Souls.

The non-profit Soles4Souls charity donates shoes worldwide to disaster victims, disadvantaged children, the homeless, and those in orphanages and domestic abuse shelters. Both children and adults worldwide are in need of footwear, and are overjoyed to receive even a pair of used shoes.

Through Davidson's project, used shoe donations are being accepted throughout the month of September at three locations: Blue Valley North High School, 12200 Lamar Ave., at Elite Feet Running Shoes, 5017 W. 119th St., in Overland Park, and at Backwoods Outdoor Gear, 6825 W. 135th St., in Overland Park.

Soles4Souls began after the sight of a single empty shoe on the beach after the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. That touching site inspired founder Wayne Elsey to donate shoes and later establish a non-profit agency. In 2004 and 2005, Soles4Souls distributed over one million pairs of shoes for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Asian Tsunami.

No comments: