From today’s Davidson AM:

Clothes4Soles could be launched in the next 12 months, according to initial business plans.

The nonprofit will continue to donate and distribute shoes. It has set a goal of distributing 30 million pairs of shoes in the next five years – five times more than what has already gone out. Numerous celebrities have associated their names and helped with fundraising events for Soles4Souls.

Clothes4Soles would operate as a separate brand, distributing clothing that is donated in similar fashion to how shoes are given. Details still are being worked out, Elsey said.

Kudos to Titans Coach Jeff Fisher for giving back to the community! The Nashville City Paper reports today on his annual softball tournament that benefits charities chosen by Fisher:

Fisher’s longevity has allowed him to create a Nashville tradition unto itself – his annual charity softball game. This year will be the ninth installment of the game that features Fisher and Titans stars interacting with the fans, while also raising money for local charities.

This year’s game, which takes place 7 p.m. Saturday at Greer Stadium, will benefit Mercy Ministries, Soles4Souls, Catch-A-Dream, Nashville Children’s Alliance and other local charities.

Already, Fisher’s softball game has raised more than $340,000 heading into this year’s installment. Fisher said the idea for a softball game came not long after the team came to Nashville.

What: Jeff Fisher Annual Charity Softball game
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Greer Stadium, 534 Chestnut St.
Cost: $10 for general public, $6 for children 12 and younger
Titans players on hand: Nate Washington, Kenny Britt, Kerry Collins, Cortland Finnegan, Ahmard Hall, Jovan Haye, Vincent Fuller, Michael Roos, Rob Bironas and others

Titans safety Chris Hope donates $100 per tackle to the nonprofit organization, Soles4Souls. He was at the Nashville Rescue Mission to help deliver 1000 pairs of shoes donated by Soles4Souls and Shoe Carnival. NewsChannel 5 has the heartwarming story:

Soles4Souls is launching a campaign to collect 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days. The Nashville based nonprofit provides shoes to the poor all over the world. Watch the video below for more information:

From the Nashville Scene’s Blog-Pith in the Wind:

Remember back in early January when a Nashville charity called Soles4Souls took thousands of shoes inexplicably littering Miami’s Palmetto Expressway and shipped ‘em to needy folks in Haiti?

Founder Wayne Elsey plans on paying it forward to the Magic City for its highway cor-shoe-copia by providing fresh treads to the city’s less-than-fortunate. Today Soles4Souls handed out 1,000 pairs–the first phase in a plan to distribute 10,000 pairs to the homeless in the Miami area.

Soles4Souls first made national headlines when thousands of athletic shoes, sandals and winter boots covered the Palmetto Expressway, blocking traffic for hours. In an odd coincidence, Nashville-based Correction Corporation of America organized the clean-up, and Elsey had the shoes shipped to hurricane-wracked Haiti. The incident was broadcast across the major cable news networks, raising the profile of Nashville’s little charity.

When a semi-truck inadvertently unloaded thousands of shoes on a South Florida highway, the Nashville based nonprofit, Soles4Souls sprang into action. Led by CEO Wayne Elsey, they were able to collect the shoes, and plan to donate them to people in need. You can read more about this interesting story on the Nashville Scene’s blog Pith in the Wind, or check out the coverage below from the Miami Herald.

Shoes that blocked Palmetto Expressway now bound for needy

The mysterious used shoes that littered the Palmetto Expressway, causing traffic tie-ups and a national stir last week, will soon be paired with those in need after being picked up Tuesday by an international charity.

But law enforcement authorities are still baffled about the identity of the person responsible for the freeway footwear folly.

Soles4Souls, a shoe-giving charitable organization with projects around the world, gathered up between 2,000 and 4,000 shoes from a mound near the Golden Glades interchange in North Miami-Dade County, said Wayne Elsey, founder of the Tennessee-based nonprofit.

Continue reading ‘Soles4Souls Gets Unexpected Donation’

An announcement from Soles4Souls:

Grammy Award Winning Christian Artist, Amy Grant, recently partnered with Soles4Souls, the international charity dedicated to providing free footwear to those in desperate need in the United States and around the world, to distribute shoes and perform for 350 homeless people for “The Bridge” ministry in Nashville, Tennessee. “The Bridge” ministry feeds, hands out clothing and has a church service under the bridge for all the homeless people living in Nashville.  For more information, please contact: Kim Dettwiller, Soles4Souls, 615-330-5656, kimd@giveshoes.org.

 

 Photo1: (L-R) Chip Stockard, “The Bridge”, Amy Grant, Candy Christmas, Founder and President, “The Bridge”, Wayne Elsey, CEO and Founder, Soles4Souls and Kent Christmas, Founder, “The Bridge”

St. Luke’s Community House Blog points out a story posted on a community Web site in Delaware about a local shoe seller that found out about Soles4Souls, a Nashville based nonprofit, and began a shoe collection at her store. It reminds us all of the power of the Internet:

In a world where Imedla Marcos owned more than 1,200 pairs and designer Manolo Blahnik is peddling $14,000 alligator-skin boots, many consider shoes the crown of high fashion. But 300 million children around the world don’t even own a pair of sneakers to protect their feet from broken glass or keep their toes warm on an icy, winter evening.

Sissy Harris, owner of Peter Kate Shoes in Greenville, (Delaware) is doing her best to change that by collecting new and gently used shoes for Soles 4 Souls, a nonprofit group that donates shoes to people around the world.

Harris read about the charity online and decided to set up a collection box inside her store, offering customers a 15 percent discount if they bring shoes to donate.

“There are shoes out there, sitting in the backs of our closets, that someone would treasure,” she said.