WaterStep’s mission is supported through shoe collection by groups like the Iona Group from Morton, Illinois, who sent us this great video from their shoe drive.
People from around the country collect shoes from their community and donate them to us. Shoes are sold to an exporter and funds received help bring safe water to those in need. We accept all types of shoes from high heels to high tops. In addition to funding water projects, donated shoes keep hundreds of tons of waste out of our landfills.
Denise from the Iona Group wrote to us and said this:
“It has been an amazing year and I’m sure our stories are similar to many others. This accomplishment was truly a community effort as overwhelming generosity and extreme creativity was displayed throughout the drive. The shoes were donated in grocery sacks, shoe boxes, large boxes, garbage bags, laundry baskets, car and truck loads, and in carts. Other people inspired us with their ingenuity in collecting and getting shoes to us.
Our number of drop off locations more than doubled this year which directly impacted the success of this project as it allowed the community to drop off their shoe donations at a convenient location. The donations started out much faster this year. We were processing anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 pairs of shoes per week initially and in our final week, processed over 4,500 pairs of shoes. In just two years, this local drive has kept over 22,000 pairs of shoes from entering the local landfills. This has been a tremendous group effort to help others we will never meet . . . and for that, we are truly thankful.”
Our number of drop off locations more than doubled this year which directly impacted the success of this project as it allowed the community to drop off their shoe donations at a convenient location. The donations started out much faster this year. We were processing anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 pairs of shoes per week initially and in our final week, processed over 4,500 pairs of shoes. In just two years, this local drive has kept over 22,000 pairs of shoes from entering the local landfills. This has been a tremendous group effort to help others we will never meet . . . and for that, we are truly thankful.”
Interested in donating your used shoes to WaterStep or hosting a shoe drive? Visit Why Shoes? to learn how you can be a part.
