Motorcycle Boots & JellyPops

     The Soles4Souls RV is making its way across the country as a part of The Great American Shoe Drive. Allen & Silvana Clark have been traveling the country distributing shoes & promoting our cause. This week, Silvana shares stories from last week's distribution in Salt Lake City:

     The statistics are horrifying. It is estimated that 50% of deaf women are sexually abused. The Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf (SLCAD) is an advocacy agency designed to meet the specific needs of Deaf, Deaf/Blind and Hard of Hearing victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Salt Lake City. Allan and I were privileged to be able to give this agency high-quality, new shoes. Last week, our distribution at the refugee center was very loud with people speaking in their native languages to each other from one side of the room to another.
    
 Our distribution at the Community Center for the Deaf was a bit on the quite side as people used their hands to sign to each other. With the help of two interpreters we were able to fit men, women and children with shoes. Most of the participants are on SSI or live off Social Security checks and can seldom afford new shoes. We had the best time matching shoes to each person’s “personality”.

      One woman entered the room with spunk and energy and left with a pair of sparkling pink shoes. Another woman had a job where she needed dressier shoes, but couldn’t afford to buy a pair. The slip-on shoes donated by JellyPops were perfect for her.

   Then of course was the thrill of finding a pair of shoes for a deaf Harley Rider!

   We were able to acquire the Olympic torch from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It was neat to see peoples faces light up when they got to hold the torch.

     Later, a staff member commented that she had never seen so many people smiling and walking with a new “spring” in their step.

     “You gave our clients something special,” she told us. What more could we ask for?

                                            -Silvana

Our Next Stop: Los Angeles

- Check out The Great American Shoe Drive Map for the complete list of the cities, dates & event details.
-  Follow the tour on Twitter & use the hashtag #giveshoes when you make a donation.
- Tell us about your Great American Shoe Drive experience.

Letters from Haiti

Dear friends,
     The goal of my letter is to thank you for the shoes that you brought for us.
     I want to say thank you for the shoes that you brought for us and for helping measure us for the shoes. The shoes are magnificent, marvelous, and we are proud of you. You gave us shoes and you brought them all the way here. It is for that, that we wish to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you again for all you have done. I cannot find the words I must use to thank you.
   I hope you have a good year.
                             Your friend,

                             Josué

Subject: A thank you

From: Samuel

To: My friends

Very dear friends,

     Hello. Today I write you just to thank you for your good deeds toward me.
     My friends, I thank you a lot for having thought of me; even if I spend all year thanking you, it would not be sufficient to repay you. So I can only say thank you and thank you.
     And thanks be to God. That is all.

These are just a couple of the letters we received. The children were so grateful for the shoes and our lives were forever impacted by their stories, smiles, and love.

Will you join us in changing the world one pair at a time?

Want to see more pictures from our Haiti distribution or get more information about ways to help?

South Florida homeless to get 10,000 pairs of shoes

Soles4Souls will be sending new shoes for the feet of 10,000 homeless people in the Miami area.

Soles4Souls announced today that it's partnering with the Red Wing shoe company, of Minnesota, and the Hollywood-based watch company, Invicta, to distribute the footwear beginning next week.

Distribution for the first 1,000 pairs of shoes will take place at Miami's Camillus House on Tuesday.

Soles4Souls collected, refurbished and distributed in Haiti an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 shoes that were found scattered along the southbound lanes of the Palmetto Expressway near Bird Road in the early morning hours of Jan. 2.

Authorities suspect they fell off a truck that didn't stick around.

"Soles4Souls is not only dedicated to keeping useable footwear out of our landfills, but also in putting shoes on the feet of needy people around the world," said Wayne Elsey, the organization's founder and CEO.

Elsey said Soles4Souls asked some of its corporate partners to help give back to the Miami community. Red Wing and Invicta "stepped up to the plate in a huge way," he said.

Soles4Souls and First Baptist Church of Orlando to Distribute 30,000 Pair

Soles4Souls plans to partner with First Baptist Church of Orlando to distribute 30,000 pairs of sandals to needy people in the greater Orlando, Florida area.

The distribution is a key component of Fusion 2008, held on the weekend of October 3-5. The event brings local churches together to participate in community services to demonstrate God's love through meeting needs.

"We are thrilled to be able to donate to First Baptist Church of Orlando so they can reach out to needy people in their community," said Wayne Elsey, Soles4Souls Founder and CEO. "The church has a long history of serving people in their community through acts of love and kindness, and we're happy that these sandals will go to people who need them most," he said.

Church staff member John Helton is heading up First Orlando's distribution efforts during Fusion 2008.

"We're teaming up with Soles4Souls in several ways first of all, on Saturday, October 4 at the Student Center, we'll be distributing shoes to those who come to us," he said.

News releases to various ministries within a 600-mile radius of Orlando will inform the needy of the shoe distribution. First Orlando is also partnering with Coalition for the Homeless and the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, which will also be given shoes to distribute.

On October 4, the addresses of the distribution centers are:
Orlando Union Rescue Mission
Donation Center
3250 Old Winter Garden Rd.
Orlando, FL 32805

Coalition for the Homeless
639 W Central Blvd
Orlando, FL 32801

First Baptist Church of Orlando
Student Center
3000 South John Young Parkway
Orlando, Florida 32805


The two Saturday distributions will run from 10am to 2pm, and on October 4 several speakers are scheduled during the event, including Wayne Elsey. The press conference will start at 11:00 am until 12:00 pm. Helton said that he needed more volunteers to help give away sandals, among other things.

"For October 4, I need people to carry boxes of shoes, open them up and put them out on tables," he said. "I also need people to sit at the tables and give out shoes as well as people for crowd control and to help out with parking. I have plenty of things for you to do."