How your shoes can help charity

With most people now owning more shoes than ever before, many of us are using our old footwear to help raise money for worthy causes.

Rather than having boxes full of old shoes, many of which never get worn, many consumers are now opting to give their old shoes to charity, via various means.

Boxes to recycle shoes are now commonplace with our old fashion items being donated to charities for use in developing nations around the World. One of the main charities in this area are Soles 4 Souls.

Soles4Souls were formed in 2004 after the Tsunami that hit South East Asia, and have donated over 12,000,000 pairs of shoes to the needy. Soles4Souls are currently donating shoes at the staggering rate of one pair every seven seconds.

Having received support from many places, including shoe manufacturers and famous names, the work of Soles 4 Souls looks set to go from strength to strength.

Celebrity shoe auctions have also been popular recently, with Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Joanna Lumley being just a few of the famous names donating footwear.

In July 2010, a shoe celebrity shoe action was held in the UK by the Mines Advisory Group which raised over seven thousand pounds.

Some footwear manufacturers also include charity as part of their main business philosophy. One such company is Toms Shoes. Toms Shoes was created in 2006 after traveler Blake Mycoskie met children in Argentina and found they had no footwear to protect their feet.

The company now makes shoes for retail and for every pair they sell, they also make another pair to donate to the needy. As of September 2010, over a million pairs of shoes have been donated around the World to children in need.

For them, decent footwear is vital for several reasons, including the prevention of disease. Many illnesses are transmitted via the soil, and the wearing of shoes is an extremely effective way of preventing these. Cuts and sores caused by walking barefoot can also become infected and cause further heath problems.

In the United Kingdom, most charities will be happy to accept footwear, either by taking them to your local charity shop, or donating via a footwear/clothing bin that you’ll find in most supermarket car parks and recycling centres.

Why don’t you go through your shoe collection right now? If you have shoes there that you won’t ever wear again, they could be doing some good for worthy causes instead.