Virtual Shoe Shopping

"It's time to give poverty a swift kick with 50,000 pairs of shoes!"

Yep, that's right. That's the big secret! A group of bloggers are teaming up with Soles4Souls to give away 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days! You can be a part of this, too!



50, 000 pairs of shoes in 50 days to people who have never had a pair of shoes or do not have shoes now!

Nashville, TN -- November 7, 2008 -- Soles4Souls, the international
charity dedicated to providing free footwear to those in desperate need, has
announced plans to launch a new fundraising website, www.50000shoes.com. The charity is challenging bloggers and social media users to raise funds for 50,000 pairs of new shoes in 50 days.

A few months ago, my daughter came home with a school project. It was to find a closet full of shoes, separate them into groups, count them and graph them. She chose our coat closet that had a basket full of shoes we run around in outside.
Black shoes alone = 8 pairs.
Tennis shoes = 6.
Flip Flops =7.
There was more, but I will spare you the details. Just right there in one basket were over 25 pairs of shoes and didn't even include our own personal closets.
I remember thinking at the time, "we have so much."



Fast forward another month to our local Clothing Swap and I stood over the most massive amount of shoes I have ever seen in one place. People were just giving away shoes to others in our community. Hundreds and hundreds of shoes.
I said to a friend, "Nobody on this earth should be without shoes. We have enough shoes just here to outfit a small country."

"It is estimated that Americans have 1.5 billion pairs of unworn shoes
lying in their closets while over 300 million children around the world have
never owned a pair of shoes. This is an opportunity to "Step Up" and to help
Soles4Souls with their mission of "Changing the World, One Pair at a Time"
with "One Click at A Time."

Then about a week and a half ago, our Compassion child, Fabrizzo sent a new photo. A photo of himself with his new tennis shoes on that he bought with the birthday money we sent him.

Finally, a call out on Anne Jackson's blog to join in something that would be HUGE. All I had to do to be a part of it was just say yes. I almost ignored the post, but something told me to say yes.

So, I said yes, she emailed me the information about the 50,000 shoe challenge and here we are. Sometimes a message just needs to come in various ways before I finally get the hint!

Finally, now my crazy shoe buying habit can actually be a good thing!

So, how can you help?
Oh, I am glad you asked.

Donating is easy and takes just a click and a couple of minutes. It requires no shipping, no wrapping and no trips to the post office.

The monetary donation is small with $5.00 buying two pairs of new shoes. Anyone can click and give, and all donations are tax-deductible.

THAT'S IT! $5.00 - TWO PAIRS OF NEW SHOES AND YOU HELP annnddd....

A TRIP: After 50,000 pairs have been donated, one person (with a guest of their choosing) will be selected at random to deliver the shoes they purchased to someone in need on one of Soles4Souls' trips to Mexico! Oh, viva la Mexico!

"Can you imagine what it would be like to personally give
someone their very first pair of shoes?! We look forward to connecting the
tangibility of handing someone a pair of shoes with the virtual world of the
Internet," said Soles4Souls Founder and CEO, Wayne Elsey

Okay, folks. That is the big secret. You can help. I have already donated my $5 for two pairs of shoes. Won't you join me? It's just $5 to us, but it could mean the world to someone else.

Also, please help to get the word out. Blog about it, Join the Facebook group and talk about it on your Facebook and MySpace pages, Twitter it and email it to your friends.

Go to here to 50,000Shoes and donate now.

Please.