I don't know about you, but when my tennis shoes get to the point where the springy bounce is gone, and their not so pretty any more - I am ready to replace them. Once I buy new shoes, I often just toss my old shoes. That for me is the norm. But recently I read an article in people magazine about a man that decided to start donating his and other peoples used tennis shoes to under privileged children in other countries. What a great idea. Of course, if all things were possible, I am sure we would rather be giving these children new shoes. But for a child that has no shoes at all, something used is just as helpful. So I think that when I go to buy my next pair of new sneakers, I will check out some Project Sole as a source to recycle my old shoe.
From Project Sole:
"We are a shoe charity. We use your donations of athletic tennis shoes to supply durable footwear for others in underprivileged communities throughout the world and use proceeds to make financial contributions in our local community:
- We offer financial support to charitable causes and organizations
- We supplement educational expenses for local schools
- We provide student scholarships"
For other shoe donation sources, check out How to Donate Your Used Running Shoes.