Sneakers. Sandals. Stilettos.
All gently-used shoes and clothes are welcomed by Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty around the world. The organization, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, welcomed its Bordentown warehouse in January 2018.
“One pair of shoes in Haiti…when an entrepreneur sells one pair of shoes in the marketplace, the income that she earns allows her family to roughly purchase five meals,” said Sara Shannon, public relations specialist for Soles4Souls, “and that’s just one pair of shoes.”
After recognizing the support in New Jersey, Colorado, and Atlanta, Soles4Souls decided to expand their presence in these areas.
“We were super excited to launch in New Jersey,” said Shannon. “As an expansion effort, we launched these regional donation centers in a couple of different cities last year.”
According to Lizzy Swiderski, regional donation center manager, the Bordentown warehouse has been received positively by the community. “We got a good response in the area,” said Swiderski, and the warehouse has already received 12,000 lbs of shoes to ship directly to Tanzania and Kenya, where most of the gently-used shoes from the state are sent. Schools, churches, and other entities assist the nonprofit by hosting shoe drives and encouraging participation.
‘Our mission is fighting poverty. We distribute new shoes and clothes all over the world, and also here in the U.S. to people in need.’
The Bordentown warehouse was created as a result of a mistake, said Swiderski. The first New Jersey warehouse was located in the Franklin in Sussex County, but Swiderski believed that it was in Franklin in Somerset. She had a two-hour commute, and since the response to Soles4Souls was well-received close by, another warehouse was opened in Bordentown.
As a regional donation center manager, Swiderski could be meeting with donors, helping to pair shoes and count them alongside high school volunteers, or talking to the community about Soles4Souls. According to Swiderski, the Episcopalians, the Episcopal diocese, rotary clubs, elementary schools have been some of Soles4Souls Bordentown donation center’s greatest supporters.
“Elementary schools have done surprising well here in New Jersey,” said Swiderski, “I’ve had several that have collected over a thousand pairs of shoes.” Out of all the responses Swiderski said she receives after informing groups about Soles4Souls and its mission, the most enthusiastic responses come from elementary-aged students. “The younger the kids, the more excited they are,” said Swiderski.
Swiderski also sees people from South Jersey coming up to Bordentown to drop off donations, even if it’s a long drive. “South Jersey people have been really supportive, and have been willing to drop off their shoes at the Bordentown location.” In the future, another donation center may come to South Jersey, according to Swiderski.
Soles4Souls, originally founded as a disaster relief organization, became a nonprofit in 2006. In 127 countries, and all 50 U.S. states, Soles4Souls has acquired 30 million pairs of shoes since its inception. “Our mission is fighting poverty,” said Shannon, “we distribute new shoes and clothes all over the world, and also here in the U.S. to people in need.”
New shoes and clothes donated are received from corporate partners, such as Macy’s, which hosts an annual coat campaign with Soles4Souls. Through working with other nonprofit organizations, such as orphanages, boys and girls clubs, and homeless shelters, Soles4Souls has been able to place new shoes in the hands of people that truly need them.
“All of our free distribution product is new product, and in a way for free,” said Shannon, who said that the nonprofit aims to provide both long-term and short-term solutions for people living in poverty. The free distribution product is a short term solution—it allows people in poverty to have access to new materials right away.
A single pair of shoes can significantly impact a family in need, according to Shannon. It’s one less cost for the family…, “it’s more money they can put towards food or gas.”
Soles4Souls works with its micro-enterprise program to help provide merchandise for budding entrepreneurs all over the world. The gently-used shoes and clothes collected by the Bordentown Soles4Souls warehouse and other warehouses all over the world, are sold to these entrepreneurs who can then sell these shoes for a higher profit. “For our micro-enterprise program, all of our gently-used product goes internationally to developing countries,” said Shannon. “We work with entrepreneurs in developing countries who start small businesses of their own.”
The nonprofit also continues to help with short-term disaster relief to families. To provide immediate relief to individuals affected by a disaster, Soles4Souls acquires brand-new shoes to donate. Donors interested in contributing to Soles4Souls efforts can contribute monetary donations towards these new shoes, but gently-used shoes go towards the micro-enterprise system.
The micro-enterprise programs serve as a long-term solution to help get entrepreneurs on their feet and give them the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. “We’re not just giving them the fish, we’re teaching them how to fish,” said Shannon. The amount of shoes that went through the Soles4Souls micro-enterprise system last year was 2,772,538 pairs.
While all different hand-me-down shoes are accepted by Soles4Souls, there is a system in place to check on the quality of the shoes before passing it down to entrepreneurs. Once shoes are collected, they are sent to a warehouse in Alabama where they are sorted into different grade groups, A Grade, B Grade, C Grade, and D Grade, according to Shannon. There they determine whether shoes can be send to entrepreneurs or if they should be recycled. The gently-used shoes that make it through the system are then able to go to entrepreneurs in Haiti, Honduras, Transtritia, and other locations around the world.
With every pair of shoes shipped out, it is another chance for an entrepreneur to work towards changing his or her life. “It’s not for Soles4Souls…its for Mare Ange in Haiti,” said Swiderski, “I’m working for her.”
Regional donation center manager Lizzy Swiderski at Soles4Souls’ new facility in Bordentown.,
