Center Stage Children's Theatre Company in Philadelphia Partners with Soles4Souls

Philadelphia was recently voted the 4th best "walking city" in the U.S., and Center Stage Children's Theatre Company is celebrating the honor by partnering with shoe charity Soles4Souls.  From April 20 until May 11, Philadelphians are asked to donate their shoes at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush High School, at 11081 Knights Road (map this school).  The phone number is (215) 281-2603.

All collected shoes will be donated to needy Americans across the country.

In addition to their charitable efforts with Soles4Souls, the Center Stage Children's Theatre Company will be performing FOOTLOOSE, the musical, on May 29, 30 and 31 at the high school.  Ticket information is available on the school's website, which can be found here.

Williamsville North High School (NY) Environmental Science Class Collecting Shoes for Soles4Souls

Williamsville residents in upstate NY are invited to drop off their gently-worn shoes to the Environmental Science Class at Williamsville North High School. So far, the students have collected over 400 pairs of shoes, which will be used to benefit needy people worldwide.

You are invited to personally drop off your shoes from now until March 9, 2009. Contact Kim Preshoff or Rick Bubar at 716-626-8374 for more information.

Williamsville North High School is located at:

1595 Hopkins Road
Williamsville, NY 14221

University of Minnesota / Crookston Holding Shoe Drive for Soles4Souls

[from the Golden Eagles' Website]

On Saturday, (February 21) The University of Minnesota, Crookston Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) is hosting a Soles4Soles shoe drive during the basketball game with St. Cloud State. Fans are encouraged to bring their new or gently worn shoes to donate to Soles4Soles. Fans that bring a pair of shoes will get into the games for free.

Soles4Souls ships the shoes directly to people in need, domestically and internationally. Soles4Souls was founded in 2004 by Wayne Elsey, who felt compelled to do something after seeing a picture of a single shoe washed up on the beach, while watching the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, according to the Web site, soles4souls.org.

Elsey contacted friends in the shoe industry and managed to arrange the donation of a quarter of a million shoes to survivors of the tsunami, according to the Web site. A year later, after Hurricane Katrina hit, Elsey called his friends again and gathered a million pairs of shoes for survivors. Because of the success of his campaign, Elsey decided to start a non-profit organization to help shoeless people around the world. His motto is "changing the world one pair at a time." Soles4Souls has given away more than three million pairs of shoes in 45 states and 61 countries through donations from shoe companies, retailers, churches and schools.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

Whitinsville (MA) Teenagers Step Up to Help Soles4Souls

[from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette]

Students send shoes where they’re needed
WHITINSVILLE — Two Northbridge High School seniors, Joseph Susienka and Casey Petersen, have teamed up with Soles4Souls, an international charity dedicated to providing free footwear to people in desperate need. They ran a shoe drive in the Northbridge Public School system to raise awareness and collect shoes for Tennessee-based Soles4Souls. Between the school district’s four schools during a two-month campaign, 1,079 pairs of shoes were collected.


“Most of us have lots of shoes we no longer wear,” said Casey in a news release. “According to one estimate, more than one billion pair of shoes lie idle in American closets from coast to coast. In spite of that, there are millions of people both in the United States and around the world in desperate need of footwear.”

The young men completed the campaign as their senior year DECA public relations project. DECA is the only national student organization operating through the nation’s schools to attract young people to careers in marketing, management and entrepreneurship. The two will be presenting their project to a panel of judges drawn from business, education and government at the Massachusetts state competition, which occurs March 5-7 in Boston. The Northbridge High School chapter adviser is faculty member Susan Palmer-Howes.

Starting Line Sports in Madison, NJ, holding shoe drive

[from the Madison Eagle]

Gently worn pairs gain discount in shoe drive

MADISON – Now through Saturday, Feb. 28, Starting Line Sports, 67 Main St. in Madison, New Jersey, is hosting a shoe drive to benefit Soles4Souls, an international footwear charity that delivers shoes to needy people around the world.

During the drive, Starting Line Sports is offering a $10 discount to all customers who bring in gently worn pairs of shoes.

“This a great program for all involved,” said Robert Koppenol, owner of Starting Line Sports. “First and foremost, the program provides shoes to people who would otherwise do without. The program also provides an outlet for people to responsibly dispose of their used shoes. We would much prefer to see our used shoes go to people who will use and appreciate them, rather than into a landfill.”

“We are excited that Starting Line Sports is working with us to spread joy to people, both here in the United States and around the world,” said Wayne Elsey, founder of Soles4Souls. “It is only because of proactive retail stores, such as Starting Line Sports, that we are able to accomplish our goal of getting shoes on the feet of people who need them most.”

For information on the shoe drive and the discount toward a new pair of shoes, contact Koppenol at (973) 514-1057 or slsports@optonline.net.

Based in Nashville, Tenn., Souls4Souls facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes to needy people worldwide. Soles4Souls has distributed more than four million pairs of shoes. For information, visit www.giveshoes.org.

North High School in Williamsville, NY, Holds Shoe Drive

The Amherst Bee is reporting that NORTH HIGH SCHOOL in Williamsville, New York, is holding a shoe drive that runs until February 27. All residents in the area are invited to drop off their "gently worn" shoes to join the students and teachers in helping Soles4Souls change the world, one pair at a time.

To date, more than 260 pairs of shoes have been collected.

For more information, visit the Amherst Bee's website.