Soles4Souls

Don't know what to do with the shoes in your closet that you never wear but don't want to throw away?  Go green by donating them to Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based charity that collects and distributes shoes to those in need.

Their mission is simple yet profound.  Here is some information from their Web site about how you can donate your gently used, unwanted shoes:

"We offer a simple way to help reduce the strain on our environment: donate your "gently worn" footwear to people in need instead of throwing them away. Last year alone, Americans discarded more than 300 million pairs of shoes. When these shoes break down in our landfills, the toxic glue that holds the shoes together can leak into our water supply and atmosphere.


Soles4Souls can save your shoes from early death by cleaning them and shipping them to needy people around the world, who will treasure the gift for years to come. Since its inception following the Asian tsunami, Soles4Souls has distributed nearly 12 million pairs to people in 125 countries, and our efforts have been publicized in thousands of articles, including the Green Guide by National Geographic and Runner's World.

Most of our closets are filled with shoes we rarely wear. Instead of dropping the unwanted pairs in the trash, consider stopping by a local shoe retailer in exchange for a discount on a new pair of shoes. In addition to this program, Soles4Souls hosts thousands of collection events across North America, including marathons, schools, churches and more."

Clean out your closet and fill a basic need for someone else.  For more information on Soles4Souls, go to: http://www.soles4souls.org/.