Website Wednesday GREEN running: donate (your shoes)

IF YOU RAN OR ARE PLANNING TO RUN A PERSONAL HALF MARATHON with an EarnedRuns bib and not paying a registration fee, consider donating to a charity the amount you would have spent participating in an organized race (see GENEROSITY page). OR, CONSIDER  DONATING YOUR SHOES to a charity, or collecting them for donation. There have been several online articles in the past that listed organizations involved in this work. The latest is from Competitor.com by Allison Pattillo posted in 2013.  Since this article and others are several years old, I checked the websites to determine if the groups were still active and Charity Navigator for a rating.
 
In the process I learned a quite a bit about such organizations. Firstly, there are more of them than I would have imaged. Second, they all save used shoes from going immediately into landfills as waste. Third, they serve both local and/or international needs.  NIKE, is unique in the list in that it receives donated shoes and then re-purposes the recycled materials for use in artificial field surfaces. Another (MORE) uses funds from shoes donations to help save the environment. The remainder help the needy obtain shoes with the exception of ONE WORLD RUNNING that also recycles, and SHOE 4 AFRICA that built a hospital and in reality works for women, health, and peace in that continent!!!
 
I was very much IMPRESSED WITH THE PEOPLE/GROUPS WHO RECOGNIZE THE NEEDS OF OTHERS and work to improve the world making both small and huge efforts. This post/list will be saved as a PDF and be posted on the GENEROSITY page.
 
SHOE RECYCLING
Nike Re-use A Sole:
http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/better-world/reuse-a-shoe
A recycling effort, not a charity organization. Website is easy to navigate; information is available on products made from the ground-up sole material; very easy to find a location for shoe drop-off, nationwide.
 
Concerns regarding the safety of artificial turf were addressed in an October 2014 NBC Nightly News investigation and commented on in an article, “High School Changes Artificial Turf Field Plans” by Monica Alba and Kevin Monahan.  Distinction was made between infill using recycled tires and the NIKE GRIND material which “ ‘is made from recycled Nike manufacturing waste, all of which meets Nike's Restricted Substances List (RSL) standards,’ " according to Greg Rossiter, a company spokesperson quoted in the article dated from about 1.5 years ago.  " ’Our RSL is based on the most stringent worldwide chemicals legislation for consumer products and on substances that Nike has voluntarily decided to restrict from our products. In addition, the finished Nike Grind material is routinely tested against safety standards by an independent laboratory before use in the production of synthetic turf fields’. "
 
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/artificial-turf-debate/high-school-changes-plans-artificial-turf-field-n232686
 
DONATION OF USED SHOES + SUSTAINABILITY TRAINING
MORE Foundation Group
http://www.morefoundationgroup.org/donate-shoes/
According to the website, 100% of this Delaware-based organization’s funding comes from “the sale of ‘gently used athletic shoes’.“ A collection box can be requested, filled with shoes, then sent to MORE, which sells them to vendors in major metropolitan areas. Shoes can also be dropped off at easy to locate collection sites. The revenue from sales is used to help educate villages and farmers in developing countries to create Modular Organic Regenerative Environment’s (MORE) that “conserve natural habitat and regenerate regions that have been severely damaged.”
 
Not eligible to be rated by Charity Navigator because it does not meet criteria of having at least $1 million in revenues (this is neither a positive or negative indicator).
 
DONATION OF USED SHOES + RECYCLING
One World Running
http://oneworldrunning.com
This organization is, according to their website, “ an international program promoting an awareness of health, fitness and nutrition by providing running shoes to those in need in the United States and around the world. “ It also holds “5K walk/runs to foster an environment of exercise and to increase understanding and goodwill between people.”  Initially started in 1986 as Shoes for Africa by a group of Boulder, Colorado runners who “collected, washed and sent new and ‘near-new’ athletic shoes, T-shirts and shorts to needy athletes and children around the world.” The project grew into a global operation, 100% volunteer run, with shoes and other athletic equipment being sent in from around the United States. Shoes not suitable for re-use are sent to Nike’s Re-use A Shoe program for re-cycling.
 
DONATION OF USED SHOES
1) Soles 4 Souls
https://soles4souls.org/
Easy to navigate website, clear directions on how to donate shoes according to number sent. It was “founded as a disaster relief organization after philanthropists and shoe executives provided footwear to those most impacted by The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005” and officially formed as a non-profit in 2006”. The group continues to “act as second wave responders providing footwear and clothing to those In need during times of disaster.”
Rated 85.6 by CharityNavigator.org (3 of 4 stars)
 
2) Share Your Soles
http://shareyoursoles.org/
Their motto is: “Lacing the world together since 1999”. According to the website their mission is to “provide gently worn/new shoes to those in greatest need around the world”. Drop-off locations seem to be mostly in Chicago and its suburbs, and in Indiana. There is one location in California. Events are scheduled for June 2016 and beyond, and there are opportunities to volunteer.
 
Not eligible to be rated by charity Navigator because it does not meet criteria of having at least $1 million in revenues (this is neither a positive or negative indicator).
 
3) Shoe 4 Africa
http://www.shoe4africa.org/
Website states: “Our challenge is to listen and work with communities to better lives focusing on Health & Education” by assisting with HIV/AIDS awareness at sponsored sporting events, education, women’s empowerment and peace, and health. Started with the idea of providing shoes to Kenyan runners, the organization has evolved greatly with a much broader and ambitious mission. The website seems not to explain it easily, and the most incredible story and accomplishments of its founder, elite runner Toby Tanser of Sweden, are almost buried in all the information provided. There is a link to their TCS New York City Marathon Team; you can sponsor members who, by running, are raising funds for this organization, which has recently built a public pediatric hospital in Kenya (the first according to the website).  This organization seems to be a serious international aid organization that may receive some governmental funds.
 
Not eligible for rating by Charity Navigator for reasons related to it’s tax filing requirements (this is neither a positive or negative indicator).
 
4) Shoe Bank
http://shoebank.org/
Founded in 1989 with the purpose of putting ”comfortable shoes on a few hundred homeless men living on the streets in downtown Dallas’, the program now “provides shoes for twenty-five thousand people every year – primarily children”, both in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area and worldwide. This organization and its founder have received national and international awards. The website lists a number of fitness centers and stores (presumably sites to drop-off shoes) and identifies groups/teams/companies that have organized special collections. It says most of the shoes come from school children.
 
Not eligible to be rated by Charity Navigator because it does not meet criteria of having at least $1 million in revenues (this is neither a positive or negative indicator). The larger charity within which it is also listed (Rockwall County Helping Hands) has a rating of 85.08 (3 of 4 stars).
 
5) Donate Your Old Shoes
http://donateyouroldshoes.org/
Website says its mission is to “ put shoes on the shoeless, worldwide”, mostly by helping others/groups organize shoe drives and collecting shoes sent to them directly. This family run group partners with organizations that are able to handle the expense of sending shipments to the needy, which they identify as the “poorest of the poor”. Based in San Diego CA, the organization’s website provides clear instructions for sending any type of shoes, not just running or athletic shoes. There’s an FAQ section that explains much about the organization about the family, and how and where shoes are sent in the world. “We don’t want your cash, just your old shoes,” the site proclaims!
 
Not eligible for rating by Charity Navigator for reasons related to it’s tax filing requirements (this is neither a positive or negative indicator).
 
DONATION OF USED SHOES (BASED OUTSIDE USA)
7) Shoes For Planet Earth (Australia)
http://www.shoesforplanetearth.com/
Monetary donations are accepted online. Donors with shoes are helped to “Post A Box” to a location where need exists.
 
8) Shoe Bank Canada
http://www.shoebankcanada.com/
Rotary Club members founded a local chapter of an international shoe charity in 2010; the group partnered with a food bank and now focuses on serving all needy Canadians, and if possible, others in need overseas. Website has easy to find information about drop off locations in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.
 
OTHERS LISTED IN GUIDES
Give Your Sole: website does not seem updated; last posts from mid-2015
Heart and Sole: link not active
Hope Runs: monetary donations only on website
Running Wild: no link found to information shoe donation
Warren Strider’s Club: no link found to information shoe donation
 
http://running.competitor.com/2013/12/shoes-and-gear/feel-good-options-for-old-shoes_90394
 
RUN HAPPY!

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