Soles4Souls Asking Nashville to "Step Up" for Disaster Victims

Wayne Elsey, the Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls™ Inc., is accustomed to seeing 32,000 pairs of shoes come in and out of the charity’s warehouses each week, but the recent natural disasters in Peru, the US Midwest, Mexico, and the current Hurricane (Felix) have left a giant void in the Soles4Souls buildings.

“We can use the shoes taking up space in your closet to change the world one pair at a time,” Elsey said. “We need our partners in North America and specifically our home town, Nashville, to 'STEP UP' and get behind our call for action. It’s one of the most simple yet profound gifts you can make, because it will greatly improve someone’s life in the most difficult of times,” he said.

Nashvillians are asked to clean out their closets and recycle their gently worn shoes and take to area Kroger stores from Tuesday, September 18th to Tuesday, September 25th, from 10 AM- 7 PM. Kroger has generously agreed to host the shoe drive in three Nashville area locations.

Please look for the Soles4Souls trucks in the parking lot of the following Kroger locations:
HERMITAGE: 5544 Old Hickory Blvd., Hermitage, TN 37076

FRANKLIN: 250 Williamson Square, Franklin, TN 37064

BELLEVUE: 7087 Hwy 70 South, Nashville, TN 37221

In addition, people and companies interested in donating to the effort can visit the organization’s website, www.giveshoes.org , and follow the instructions.

About Kroger
Kroger is one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains. The company operates 58 stores and 27 fuel centers in Middle Tennessee.

About Soles4Souls
Nashville-based Soles4Souls facilitates the donations of footwear, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Soles4Souls has donated more than 2.6 million pairs of shoes since its inception (one pair of shoes every 28 seconds). Shoe companies, retailers, and individuals can donate both new and "gently worn" footwear. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS; donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. For more information about Soles4Souls, please call (866) 521-SHOE, or visit www.giveshoes.org or www.soles4souls.org.

For more information please contact:
Chris Carmichael: 503-319-1726; chrisc@soles4souls.org
Kim Dettwiller, Soles4Souls, 615-330-5656, kimd@soles4souls.org
Alexis Laken: 646-964-5566; alexisl@soles4souls.org

See Kai Run donating shoes

See Kai Run recently teamed up with Soles4Souls to distribute a large donation of shoes to children in need. The family-run Seattle company distributes shoes for pre and early walkers. The buttery soft leather and flexible sole are perfect for tender baby feet.


Over 10,000 pairs of these comfortable shoes have been donated to Soles4Souls and are ready for distribution!

Customers who Donate Gently Worn Shoes to Receive $25 Off New Brighton Footwear

Most of us have a lot of shoes we no longer wear. In fact, according to one estimate, more than one billion pair of shoes lay idle in American closets. Yet there are millions of people both here in the United States and around the world in desperate need of footwear.

That is why Brighton Collectibles is teaming up with Soles4Souls, the international charity dedicated to providing free footwear to people in desperate need, to provide a basic, yet indispensable gift that most of us take for granted: the gift of shoes.

Simply bring in a pair of gently worn shoes to any Brighton Collectibles store in America on Friday or Saturday, June 15th and 16, 2007 and receive $25 off a pair of new Brighton shoes. All the footwear collected during this special charitable event will go to Soles4Souls.

“We are honored to be partnering with such a worthy organization,” said Jerry Kohl, owner and president of Brighton Collectibles, Inc. “The founders of Soles4Souls saw a need and decided to do something about it, making a difference in the lives of millions of people.”

Soles4Souls has to date, donated over 2.5 Million pairs of shoes to people in over 30 plus countries around the world through donations from footwear companies, retailers, churches, nonprofit ministries, civic groups, schools, and individuals.

“We are delighted that Brighton has chosen to partner with Soles4Souls. The shoes donated by their customers will really make a great difference in the lives of those that receive them.” said Wayne Elsey, Soles4Souls founder and CEO “The gift of shoes can be such a powerful thing, often we don’t realize how many people both at home and abroad are without even a single pair of shoes.”

The partnership with Soles4Souls is the latest in a series of successful charitable initiatives that Brighton has sponsored in recent years. Since 2003, the company has been designing a special piece of jewelry for breast cancer awareness month in October. Brighton’s Power of Pink initiative has raised more than $2 million for breast cancer research.

To find a Brighton Collectibles store near you, visit http://www.brighton.com/. For more information on shoe donations, visit www.soles4souls.org.