Did you know 70% of the global population uses repurposed shoes and clothing? You can help people in developing countries by donating your gently worn, used, and new shoes.
Meadows is participating in a fundraiser where there is nothing to buy or sell. All we need is your support and your gently worn, used, and new shoes.**
Start looking in your family’s closets and gather pairs of shoes that you’ve outgrown, are out of style, or out of season. These shoes will help support our program as well as micro-entrepreneurs (small business owners) in developing nations like Haiti, Columbia, and Tanzania.
FAQs
Q. How will your shoes help Meadows?
A. If we reach our goal of 2,500 pairs of shoes, Meadows will receive a check that can then be spent on technology and school programs.
Q. How will your shoes help people in developing nations?
A. The shoes will be shipped to many micro-enterprise partners around the world where they are sold to small business owners in 26 developing countries at a low price. These small business owners clean and repurpose the shoes. The shoes are then sold by the small business owners in communities in need of proper footwear at an inexpensive price. People in these countries depend on walking as their only mode of transportation. This helps small business owners and their economy. See map below for micro-enterprise countries.
Q. What happens to the shoes that are not sold by micro-entrepreneurs?
A. The shoes that are not sold are used to make and fix products or create something new. This includes insulation for homes and stuffing for car seats or furniture.
Q. How will your shoes help the environment?
A. 85% of consumer textiles end up in landfills which is extremely harmful to the environment. It can take more than a lifetime for the shoes to decompose, which also releases toxic gases into the air and can be harmful to people living near the landfill. Your donation will help reduce the number of shoes in landfills.
For questions, contact Andrea Golovko.
**Many types of shoes accepted, including cleats. No ice skates, roller blades, or roller skates. No single shoes or thrift store shoes. No holes, tears, soles that are falling apart or too worn, or wet shoes please.