5th Grader Helps Bring in 800 Pairs

Anna Dailey is following in her sister's footsteps, so to speak.

Two years ago, when Julia Dailey was in fifth grade she organized a shoe drive at Hampton Cove Elementary School in Huntsville, AL for Soles4Souls. Julia collected dozens of pairs of shoes, and Anna, who is now in the same fifth-grade gifted program at Hampton Cove her older sister was in, decided she wanted to organize her own drive.

"I remember her coming home every day and telling us how many shoes had been donated," Anna said.

Anna and her friend, Audrey Corbett, had just done a count of about 300 pairs of shoes donated at the school. The Fleet Feet shoe store also contributed another 500 pairs to Anna's drive, bringing the total to about 800 pairs of shoes. The shoes ranged from worn athletic shoes to barely worn dressy sandals.

"My teacher brought in high heels," said Anna about her homeroom teacher Nancy Bass.

To get the project started, Anna first had to write a letter to her principal, Dr. Fillis McGhee, asking for permission. She then contacted Soles4Souls to get collection boxes and a banner to announce the drive. She wrote a note to go out in the folders that go home with the school's 1,000 students every Wednesday, and appeared on the school daily news broadcast twice to ask for donations.

"I honestly helped zero," said Sonia Parker, Anna's teacher. "I would just say 'Think about what you want to do this week'."

While Anna does get class credit for her project, she just wanted to do it, regardless of the recognition.

"If we need a new pair of shoes, we get a new pair of shoes," she said. "It's not the same for everybody. The shoe drive was a way of giving back, which everyone should try to do."

"It just feels good," she said.

Fleet Feet Sports Announces Shoe Drive

The people that truly make Soles4Souls effective are those who clean out their closets to personally drop off their gently worn shoes at a participating location, such as Fleet Feet Sports in Raleigh, NC.

Soles4Souls and Fleet Feet Sports Raleigh will be collecting your gently worn footwear and/or donations to ship the shoes to people in need, whether they are victims of a natural disaster or subject to living in extreme poverty.

The shoe donation program features an official kick-off at Fleet Feet's Spring has Sprung free fun run and walk on Saturday, April 4th.

About Fleet Feet Sports

Fleet Feet Sports Raleigh is a locally-owned running store featuring a welcoming environment where runners, walkers and fitness enthusiasts of all abilities receive unparalleled service and support. The knowledgeable team takes the time to get to know you and your specific needs in order to guide you to the products that are the right FIT for you, whether it is footwear, athletic clothing, sports bras or fitness accessories. For more information, call (919) 832-8275 or visit www.fleetfeetraleigh.com.

Store's Help is a Step in the Right Direction

A Marlton, NJ shoe store has joined with Soles4Souls to collect gently worn shoes for the poor in parts of the U.S. and overseas. Fleet Feet Sports, on Route 73 South, has collected about 200 pairs of shoes in the month since it became a drop-off location for Soles4Souls.

"It's been wildly successful," said Paul Flaherty, the store's general manager. "The response has already been much greater than we would've ever anticipated."

Many donors at the Marlton store are regular customers, Flaherty said, but anyone can walk in and donate their shoes.

"Many of our clients bring their old shoes in with them when they come in to buy new ones, and it's just a natural thing for them to just put them in the receptacle before they leave," Flaherty said.

All types, brands and sizes are needed, Flaherty said, including sneakers, high heels, men's dress shoes, slippers, even moccasins, can be used, Flaherty said.

"This isn't about the shoe's performance," he said. "We're sending to Third World countries in some cases, where children are going without any shoes at all."

Once the shoes go through the reconditioning process, they're sent to third-party organizations, like the American Red Cross, that distribute them to the needy. About 95 percent of the shoes donated are in good enough condition to refurbish and distribute and the other 5 percent are ground up and recycled into playground surfacing material.

Flaherty's store joined the effort in early February at the prompting of store employees and customers.

"Our hope is that this is only going to grow," he added.