Shoes Distributed to Families in Romania

Soles4Souls partnered with Assist International to donate over 2,000 pairs of shoes to poor families in Romania.

Assist International, a non-profit based in Santa Cruz, CA has been involved with many relief efforts in Romania since 1990. One of the projects that AI has been involved with is the building of the Caminul Felix villages, a place where orphaned or abandoned children join a loving family and find community. All of the children and adults in the Caminul Felix villages were delighted to receive the new shoes.

"They were so grateful for the gift of such quality shoes," stated Bob Pagett, the President of Assist International. "You can’t imagine the blessing that these shoes were and are to the children and poor adults of Romania."

Senator Radu Tirle, one of 35 Parliament members in Romania, helped distribute some of the other shoes to children from poor families in two of the poorest villages in Bihor County.

“I just cannot explain the sweet spirit of these meetings, the joy of the people receiving these shoes,” said Senator Tirle. "The people have told me of their struggles of sending their children to school due to a lack of financial resources. They were so grateful to receive shoes for their children."

The Shoes also went to at least 55 churches who distributed them to the poor and needy. Some shoes went to a Mental Hospital for Children, some to Romanian shelters and others to the city jail in Oradea. Bob Pagett said that no shoes were left over and every pair donated was used for someone in need.

"Each distribution has a story. If over 10,000 pairs of shoes were donated, there are 10,000 stories of appreciation," he said.

Student Shoe Collectors on NBC17.com

Students from Ravenscroft in Raleigh are helping others throughout the world with the gift of shoes. Third graders Ryan Gerard and Allison Arber know the importance of wearing shoes.

"People who don't have shoes could get splinters in their feet," Arber said.

So the kids launched a shoe drive at their school for the charity Soles4Souls. On the very first day students filled the bin with gently worn shoes.

"It makes me feel really good. It's helping people and I like to help people," Gerard said.

The tsunami's devastation in southeast Asia sparked a former shoe company executive to establish the first shoe drive for the charity Souls4Soles. Donors shipped 250,000 shoes to disaster victims. Hurricane Katrina followed and another outpouring of support with 750,000 pair of shoes. Most recently, 50,000 soles to help people devastated by California's wildfires.

The footwear industry supports the charity as well as grassroots efforts from schools like Ravenscroft. Adults and children brought in bags of new shoes or gently used shoes.
They filled bin after bin for 11 days.

"I thought we'd only get 100 pairs, but we are over that," Arber said.

Gerard and Arber can be proud. Their school donated 500 pairs of shoes. Now the shoes go to a New Balance store off Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh where the owners will foot the shipping bill to the charity’s main warehouse in Alabama. Owner Mark Allard said he'll take and ship even more donations through the end of the year.

“One and a half billion pairs of shoes are in Americans closets right now unused sitting there out of style, don't fit. People's unwanted pairs are sometimes some people's only pair or first pair of shoes in the world," Allard said.

Ravenscroft Third-Graders Lead Soles4Souls Shoe Drive

A couple of third-graders of the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC are leading a Soles4Souls shoe drive to collect new and gently used shoes for the less fortunate. Allison Arber and Ryan Gerard are following the school's legacy to learn, lead and serve.

Ravenscroft’s involvement with the project began when Ryan went into the New Balance store in Raleigh to purchase a new pair of shoes, and was asked by an employee if he would like to donate his unused shoes to Soles4Souls.

“I asked them how many people didn’t have shoes, and they said more than 300 million,” said Ryan. “I donated my old shoes, and then my family and I realized it would make a good service project. I asked my classmate, Allison, who goes to church with me at St. Francis of Assisi, if she wanted to help, and she did.”

The students approached the Lower School Director about sponsoring the project, and then created and distributed flyers promoting the shoe drive throughout the Lower School. The response has been overwhelming, and within two days of announcing the project, the shoe containers were overflowing with donations.

“I visited the Soles4Souls Web site and saw some pictures of children who were wearing paper held together with rubber bands on their feet,” said Allison. “Their feet could get cold or they could step on something and get hurt, so it makes me happy to help them.”

“We have done shoe drives in the past, but this is the first time we have participated in the Soles4Souls program and the first time we have worked with a local school,” said Mark Allard, who owns the Raleigh and Durham New Balance stores with his wife, Kathy. “This is a really great program that started in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. Souls4Soles delivers shoes to those with a need both domestically and internationally. For example, more than 1 million pairs went to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and 50,000 pairs were recently delivered to victims of the wildfires in California.”

New Balance has provided containers for the Ravenscroft students, who will collect shoes through Dec. 8. New Balance will then ship the shoes to Soles4Souls. Allard said that the store was already putting plans into place for future shoe drives involving local schools, so he was happy to help Ravenscroft get started when he was approached by the Gerard family.

Anyone wishing to donate their new or gently-used shoes to Soles4Souls may bring them to the New Balance Store at 6204 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh.