Shoes for Those in Need

Can you believe that just $1 will provide a new pair of Stride Rite® shoes for children in need all over the world?

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and here in the United States too, many people—especially children—make do without shoes. For people who survive by picking through landfills or who need to walk long distances to fetch cooking water for their families, shoes can make the difference between life and death.

For the homeless families hit hard by the economic downturn or victims of natural disasters like floods or hurricanes, new shoes help make difficult conditions more bearable.

And for children living in orphanages worldwide, a pair of shoes can be cherished more than something to eat or even a new toy. More than 300 million children worldwide have never owned one pair of shoes—but you can help us change that number.

You can help. Just $20 distributes 20 pairs of new Stride Rite® shoes to children in the United States and worldwide. In partnership with Nashville-based Soles4Souls™, we are working to distribute 250,000 shoes to children all over the world. Help us make this vision a reality!

Update from the Field

January 2018

Thanks to YOUR donations, Soles4Souls distributed almost 2,000 pairs of shoes to children in need in 2017! Your donations also helped nearly 180 children in Jamaica receive the gift of sturdy footwear. These shoes are life-changing and protect children from injuries, discomfort, and disease, while giving their feet plenty of room to grow. Robert, the CFO of Soles4Souls, travelled with the organization to Jamaica and saw the impact this program has made first-hand. He, along with a group of dedicated volunteers, washed and sized children's feet and gave each one the perfect pair of shoes—a pair that will last for years to come. He said the reactions and smiles he saw on the children's faces were moving. "They get the same amount of joy from receiving a pair of shoes as children in the United States get from receiving the latest iPhone or iPad," he said. Shoes are truly a gift for children in need, and your donations have helped thousands of children live a better life. Together, Soles4Souls, GreaterGood, and YOU can help "wear out poverty."

The idea for Soles4Souls™ began in 2004 when the tsunami hit Southeast Asia. Founder Wayne Elsey engineered the donation of a quarter of a million shoes to victims in the devastated countries. A few months later when Hurricane Katrina hit, Soles4Souls™ began a U.S. distribution that sent over a million pairs of shoes down to the gulf coast communities impacted by the hurricane. Since then, Soles4Souls™ has distributed more than 18 million pairs of shoes in 130 countries.