Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity, based in Nashville, were at the TN State Fairgrounds to hand out over 85,000 pairs of new shoes to Middle TN flood disaster victims on Monday, May 10th and planned on returning Tuesday, May 11th. TN Titans Chris Hope and country music artists Josh and Zach Carter (The Carter Twins) and Sarah Darling showed up to help those in need, as did Tiffany Johnson Events/Spokesperson Soles4Souls and Wayne Elsey, Soles4Souls CEO & Founder. Many volunteers from Soles4Souls and Hands on Nashville were also busy assisting with shoe selection. Each person who came was graciously given a pair of shoes of their choice, along with socks, and a pair of flip flops.
Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 9 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner's World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause, and we need your help.
Soles4Souls facilitates the donations of shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Shoe companies, retailers, and individuals can donate footwear (both new and used).
The idea behind gifts of shoes is nothing new to the Soles4Souls team, as they coordinated relief efforts for the Asian Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, netting over 1 Million pairs donated for these disasters. The team originally operated as www.katrinashoes.org with several churches partnering in the collection and distribution of footwear.
© Moments By Moser Photography * Bev Moser