Soles4Souls

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• How do I organize a shoe drive?

  Visit Get Involved to learn more about organizing a shoe drive.

• What types of shoes do you accept?

  Soles4Souls accepts all types of shoes: athletic, running, dress, sandals, pumps, heels, work boots, cleats, dance, flip flops, just as long as they are new or gently worn.

• Can I choose a specific country or region to distribute the shoes I collect through a shoe drive?

  You can request a specific country or region we serve and let your collected shoes be part of one of our distributions in that region. We will take care of the shipping costs and shipping logistics to that area.

• Do you take half pairs?

  Yes, we accept half pairs. Hopefully, we can match them up one day!

• Does Soles4Souls provide shipping for incoming shoe donations?

  We do not have the resources to assist with the cost of shipping donated shoes to our facilities. We ask that donors assume the responsibility for transporting shoes to one of our warehouse locations. We will then process and ship those shoes to their destinations around the world. For the best rates, you may contact our preferred partner, Unishippers (877-791-7447) to obtain a quote for your area.

  Individuals wishing to donate a moderate number of pairs are encouraged to visit our official retail participation locations to drop off shoes!

• What options do I have for covering the costs of shipping?

  1. You may raise funds for shipping in your community.
  2. Contact local businesses in your community to sponsor shipping. Many will be very excited about the opportunity to be involved.
  3. Contact local shipping companies to inquire about donating the freight.

  For the best rates, you may contact our preferred partner, Unishippers (877-791-7447) to obtain a quote for your area. Expedited shipping is not necessary.

• Where are my collected shoes sent after you receive them?

  Visit Where We've Been.

• How do you determine where the shoes will be distributed that I donate to Soles4Souls?

  It is a very common sense strategy. Once donated shoes arrive into our facility the shoes are sorted by style, quality, and season. Naturally, our warm and cold climate shoes are distributed in regions that are very appropriate for those types of shoes.

• What are the costs of the distribution trips?

  Visit the Destination section of our site for more information.

• How do I obtain a tax receipt?

  If dropping shoes off at a participating location, please complete the Tax Receipt Form and we will issue a receipt from our corporate office.

  If shipping, please include your name and address on either the inside or outside of the box. With that information upon receiving the shipment we will mail out a tax receipt.

• What is the Soles4Souls Tax Id?

  Our Tax is 20-4023482.

• Can I drop shoes off at one of the warehouses rather than ship them?

  Yes. Normal receiving hours at all three warehouses are Monday - Friday, ranging from 7 - 3.

• Where do I ship the shoes?

  Visit Shipping Locations.

• Is there a drop off location near me?

  Visit Participation Locations.

• What do you do with shoes that are not wearable?

  The small percentage of shoes that we receive that cannot be utilized will be recycled.

• How do I prepare the shoes to ship to you?

  Simply tie pairs together using the laces or rubber band in pairs. Pack tightly in a shipping box to minimize your shipping or postage costs. It is not necessary to send shoes to us in their original boxes (when discarding these, remember to always recycle!).

• Do you supply shipping boxes and rubber bands?

  No. Use whatever appropriate shipping boxes you have available to you. Size doesn't matter. Most places like your local grocery store and retail shops usually have plenty of boxes that they could donate free of charge.

• What do you do with the shoes you receive?

  All shoes are processed and graded either by our staff in Wadley, Alabama or by Village Northwest Unlimited, a nonprofit training facility for people with disabilities located in Sheldon, Iowa. New and high grade used shoes are immediately earmarked for distribution in the United States or abroad. Lower grade used shoes are sorted and packed for distribution, and some are provided to microenterprise programs in developing countries such as Haiti, Tanzania, and Honduras. The microenterprise participants clean and recondition the shoes to sell locally. Thus, the microenterprise programs provide both a rare employment opportunity to impoverished people who would like to start their own shoe businesses, but lack the capital to do so, and an affordable source of shoes for the impoverished local population. Shoes in very poor condition are unfit for the microenterprise programs and are sent to recyclers in Pakistan who salvage the usable materials from the shoes. Funds raised by Soles4Souls from the microenterprise and recycling programs are used to sustain its programs, such as covering the processing costs incurred at the Wadley and Sheldon facilities and paying for transporting shoes to crisis areas for humanitarian relief.

• What is a micro-enterprise program?

  A micro-enterprise program is a market-based charitable program that is designed to provide impoverished people in developing nations with the resources to start and maintain their own businesses. In this way, the charity focuses on long-term development, as opposed to short-term crisis relief.

• Why does Soles4Souls support micro-enterprise?

  While there will always be a need to distribute shoes for crisis relief, we believe that micro-enterprise is the best hope to eliminate poverty by giving people a way of supporting themselves and their families. It allows us to utilize used shoes that are inappropriate for crisis relief – such as high-heeled shoes – and shoes that need cleaning or conditioning in order to be useful. It also provides a low cost source of shoes for the local population without undermining the local economy with a large supply of free shoes.

• How does Soles4Souls support micro-enterprise?

  Soles4Souls manages its own micro-enterprise operation in Haiti and contracts with three reputable and established micro-enterprise distributors to transport and distribute used shoes to Central America, South America, and Africa. Once in the country, the distributors’ networks of micro-enterprise business operators receive inventories of shoes to sell. In the vast majority of cases, the operators receive the shoes on credit and only have to pay for the shoes if they sell them. Shoes are in high demand for micro-enterprise because they are universally needed and valued, can be easily bartered for other goods, and are a tangible commodity that is easy to transport and sell.

• Does Soles4Souls provide prepaid shipping labels?

  No - we do ask that the donor absorb the cost of shipping the shoes to the nearest warehouse. Our preferred partner, Unishippers will provide labels as well as a discounted rate to the closest warehouse to you. Please keep in mind this is a tax deductible item.

• My box or boxes are full - what do I do now?

  The collection boxes we send to you are just that "Collection Boxes", when they are full, place the shoes into shipping boxes and keep on collecting. Make sure you put all contact information inside each box you are shipping. Download the Donor Information form.

• Why isn't there a donation site in my area?

  Retailers and businesses sign up voluntarily to be a drop off point for Soles4Souls. We update our site weekly, so keep checking back as one may sign up in your area.