USA Today Releases Feature Story on Soles4Souls

For one of their June 2010 feature stories, USA Today was inspired by Soles4Souls and released an 8 page feature entitled, "Steps to Take for Healthy Feet." With tips on how to care for your feet in order to live a healthy and active life as well as how to choose the proper footwear, the most compelling story is seen in the article written about Soles4Souls. Sharing the harsh reality that, "every 15 seconds, a child dies from some disease that can be prevented with proper shoes," the article poses the question, "what if every American donated one pair of shoes?" There are millions of pairs of shoes sitting in American's closets when instead, they could be on the feet of someone who needs them to survive. Do your part in helping others by simply donating one pair of shoes. See pdf of article: here.

Courtesy of Media Planet (http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/5088.pdf)

A Birthday for Kevin. #175?

As the story goes...when the executive team is craving cake, that means Kevin will be having a birthday. And so the tradition continues...

Sweet Sixteen Donation

Some people envision their sweet sixteen birthday and think of presents, a big party, a huge cake, and lots of friends. But Phoebe did something much bigger than all of this; she helped to improve people’s live in more ways than one could ever imagine. For her sixteenth birthday she collected shoes from all of her friends and donated them to Soles4Souls. So, when people ask her what she got for her birthday, she can say that she got shoes… but gave them away, ultimately receiving the gift of becoming an even better person.

Photos of the Week

Soles4Souls around the U.S.: photos from the week.
Proof that you can make a difference in the lives of others no matter how old you are or where you live. Find a Soles4Souls donation location near you today!

Alexandria, VA
A 5th grader at Burgundy Farm County Day School collected over 50 pairs of shoes from her classmates and donated them to Soles4Souls at the Comfort One Shoes location in her town. This just goes to show that you can make a big impact, no matter how old you are.

Noblesville, IN
Motivated to collect shoes for Vacation Bible School, it only took this small group of people a couple of hours to collect 106 pairs of shoes!

West Chester, OH
Back in October, this group stood outside in the wind and bitter cold and still managed to raise 1,300 pairs of shoes for Soles4Souls. Not even a year later, they have collected 7,000 pairs of shoes and are getting ready to ship them.

A Chance to Win $1,000 by Giving Away Just ONE Pair of Shoes

Bring hope to a child living in poverty by donating just one pair of shoes. Soccerpro.com is giving you the chance to win $1,000 in cash! All you have to do is take a picture of a gently worn pair of shoes and upload it to Soccerpro.com's facebook wall and then donate them! Donating them is easy; Just visit a Soles4Souls donation location near you or mail your donation to Soccerpro.com:

Shoes for Life
2525 Bernadette Drive
Columbia, MO 65203

(Shipping labels are available. Email info@soccerpro.com)

So, don't delay! When else can you donate one pair of shoes and be eligible to win $1,000? For more information, check out their facebook page!

Soles4Souls is Going For a Hole-In-One With First Annual Golf Tournament

Soles4Souls is proud to announce their First Annual Golf Tournament at The Hermitage Golf Course on The President’s Reserve, Monday, October 18^th, 2010 starting at 12:30pm. Come and support this incredible charity while enjoying 18 holes of golf on one of the most prestigious courses in America, a fabulous meal and many incredible prizes! There will also be golfing contests and an auction to raise additional funds to support the billions of people in the world that live without shoes. For every $1 that Soles4Souls receives, 1 pair of shoes will be given to someone in need.

For those of you who are not avid golfers, there are sponsor packages available just for you! These packages range from being a Tournament Title Sponsor, to a Hole Sponsor, or to a Golf Cart Sponsor, and many options in between. Soles4Souls is also taking donations for the auction following the golf outing. All donations are tax deductible – that includes playing, sponsoring and donating!

Limited space is available, so please sign-up today to support this incredible cause!
View and Print the Sign Up Forms:
Team Sign Up
Sponsorship Form
For more information please contact Soles4Souls by phone at 615-391-5723 or email Mehgan Heaton at mehganh@giveshoes.org .

Soles4Souls Tattoo? Yes!

We have a new fashion trend in the office today: tattoos... well, adhesive tattoos anyway. What makes them special? The Soles4Souls logo, of course! And I can't get over the detailed designs that spruce up the look! I think all of us in the office (the girls at least) are secretly dying to get our hands on one of these tattoos for ourselves.

The World Cup

Yells are resonating from the other room followed by, "How could he miss that?" My automatic assumption is that the United States missed a goal... and from the looks on their faces when I walked by, I think my assumption is correct. Luckily though, through all of the missed goals and bad calls, the USA prevailed! To be honest, I have never been much of a soccer fan and the World Cup is not something I would typically stick around to watch (please don't hate me). But the World Cup has got me thinking... what would it be like for a soccer player to have to play in the World Cup without shoes on?

Just think, on average...

A professional soccer player kicks the ball at an average of 80 mph and the fastest known kick was 11 mph.

To have more control, they sometimes must use the laces of their shoes.

The sprinting and hard-cutting actions of soccer players puts a large amount of stress on their feet.

Soccer balls are made out of rubber and leather

Player's heels are pounded regularly into the ground and this creates fatigue and trauma to the joints of the feet, legs and back.

Soccer players run 5-8 miles per game.

Foot and ankle injuries are common in soccer, even when players are wearing supportive shoes.

So, can you imagine playing a 90 minute soccer game without shoes on? Neither can I.

And let's remember all of the people living in Africa (and all of the other countries) without shoes!

undeSERVEd: Serve Others

If it were not for volunteers, Soles4Souls would not be possible. We look to volunteers to join us through just about every endeavor that our company faces: collecting, donating, organizing, and giving away shoes, going on trips to Haiti, working our events, and so much more. So, over the past few weeks when I have walked by the conference room to see groups of teenagers and adults gathering and eating lunch together, I knew exactly what they were here for. Wearing t-shirts to represent their organizations, it was clear that they were here volunteering their time to help us help others. So, working in the warehouse yesterday was a wonderful group wearing t-shirts that read, "Undeserved." I think that word speaks wonders for us all and is so true. Here are some pictures of the group:

If you are looking for a way to get involved, please join us. We would love to have you! You can visit our website for any information on how to help.

Puma!

Looking for a way to help others? In the market for new shoes? Well, now you can do both at one time. Happening now through July 11 at Puma retail stores you can take in a pair of used shoes (any brand or style) and recieve 30% off of a brand new pair of Puma's shoes (15% off at outlet stores). All of the used shoes that Puma collects will go straight to us and we will turn around and give them to people all over the world who need them. How cool is that? So, head over to Puma's website and find a store near you so that you can join us, Soles4Souls, in changing the world and saving lives, one pair at a time.

Travel with Soles4Souls “Walk in THEIR shoes”

By Katie Lentile



As the experiential manager of Soles4Souls, I coordinate and lead international distribution trips that allow others to travel with Soles4Souls and experience what it’s like to give the gift of shoes to those in need. My emotions from the experiences on these trips are indescribable. We see the children on commercials and we hear about their stories, but meeting them and “walking in their shoes” truly has changed my life.

Last week our team traveled to Haiti and distributed shoes to orphanages. As we sat washing the children’s feet, sizing and lacing their shoes, I realized the impact the simple gift of shoes has on their lives. These children are fighting for survival and desperate for hope. Many children in Haiti live on the street and have never owned a pair of shoes. Their frowns turned to smiles, their tears to laughter, because through the tangible product of a shoe they realized that someone cared. The millions of people who donated shoes were represented in our team’s faces and they saw comfort and love. These children long for someone to hold them, play with them, and comfort them.

You now have the opportunity to become that person. Your hug can be their hope. Your smile can be their comfort. If you want to make a difference, I invite you to join me and “walk in their shoes.” See firsthand the struggles and poverty they face each day, and give them a gift that provides safety and security as they step out into a new tomorrow. You will impact their life and I am certain your's will forever be changed.

The following link will direct you to Soles4Souls trip information:
http://www.soles4souls.org/get_involved/travel/index.html

How Shoes Can Change a Life

As Americans (and as women) we love our shoes. We spend hours on the weekends scouring for the right pare of pumps for that perfect little dress. When we get them home, we wear them once and then toss them to the back of our closets until the next event. I am guilty of this very thing myself. In fact, before I started working at my current job, I was constantly concerned that I didn’t have enough shoes. I knew I had plenty of pairs that weren’t ‘in’ anymore, but I didn’t think that my ‘unworn’ shoes could help change someone’s life.

That is until I started working for an organization called Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity dedicated to providing a free pair of shoes to people in need. They offer a solution to the growing need for footwear by refurbishing our ‘gently’ worn shoes and giving them to people who are less fortunate. We receive emails and letters all the time from struggling mothers who felt unattractive and alone until they receive a pair of shoes at a distribution and it changes their whole outlook on life.


Our Founder Wayne Elsey just returned last Thursday from a shoe-distribution trip to Haiti, and what he saw there was astonishing:

Toddlers roaming the streets in the midst of rubble and raw sewage without supervision, food, clothing, or shoes.

People in the tent cities in Port-Au-Prince were without running water or electricity, not knowing where their next meal will come from—children can’t go to school or get clean clothes.

Parents are weak from giving their children any spare scraps of food they get to their children.

People are literally starving to death on the side of the streets.

He spent a day with the children at a local orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, and as he reached down to fit these tiny feet with their only pair of shoes, he realized they were also reaching for his hands, grabbing his cheeks, crawling on his lap. So he took the time to hold each one of them, listen to their stories (even if he couldn’t make out their broken Creole), and show them that they mattered. The children left that day with more than just a pair of shoes, they left with the HOPE of a brighter tomorrow.

These horrific circumstances are not unique to Haiti; with more than 300 million children in the world who don’t own a single pair of shoes.Today is the start of Soles4Souls' 3rd Annual National Barefoot Week. From June 1-7 we are encouraging people like you to help us raise awareness for this international crisis by participating in the week in some small way (even with the hustle and bustle of marriage and motherhood).

Below are some simple ways I’m encouraging my friends to get involved. Your little acts can help us change the world one pair at a time.

•Go barefoot for a day - or even just an afternoon and blog about the experience, or talk about it with friends
•Encourage your kids or coworkers to designate a day to go barefoot
•Raise funds for Soles4Souls through a designated fundraiser page
•Clean out your closet and drop off your unworn shoes at an official drop off location
•Host a shoe drive at your local school, day care, church, work place, etc.
•If you’re a blogger, use your blog to post pictures of your family or office going barefoot.
•Change your twitter or facebook avatar to your barefoot and let your friends know that June 1-7 is National Barefoot Week

New Photos from Haiti

Our team at Soles4Souls, the shoe charity, just returned from Haiti last week. The images they collected from the trip heart breaking, but there is still hope.