Soles4Souls Takes ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ Literally

Give to him who comes with a request, and keep not your property from him who would for a time make use of it. Matt 5:42 (BBE)

We are reminded everyday of the great needs of others if we but pause long enough to look. Here is an opportunity that anyone can do today to change the life of someone else. It is so simple perhaps that is why it is so effective. Take off your shoes right now and give them to Soles4Souls and you will be walking on air tonight.

Soles4Souls, an organization that commonly responds to natural disasters all around the world, is currently assisting residents in its hometown of Nashville and surrounding areas by donating 85,000 pairs of shoes to flood victims in Tennessee.

According to its website, Soles4Souls has a simple concept: they get shoes and give them away.

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami that hit Southeast Asia, Wayne Elsey, the Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls® Inc., felt compelled to do something.

The site says: “Like many of us, he did not know what to do. He was at home one night, watching TV and he saw a picture of a single shoe washing up on the beach. That triggered a few calls to some other executives in the footwear industry and the subsequent donation of a quarter of a million shoes to victims in the devastated countries.”

A year later when Katrina hit, Wayne called the same group of friends, and they sent over a million pairs of shoes down to the gulf coast communities affected by the hurricane. In all honesty, he admits that he did not expect such an immediate and successful turnout. This left him wondering, why not start a non-profit and do this all the time? One year later, Soles4Souls was formally created.

It has been that simple: changing the world one pair at a time. shoes.png (210x106 pixels)

Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. We distribute these shoes, free of charge, to people in need around the world. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 10 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently distributing one pair every 9 seconds). The shoes have been distributed in 125 countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages.

View this introduction video about Soles4Souls