UNCP Cross Country Runners Get Together With ‘Soles4Souls’

PEMBROKE – The UNCP men’s and women’s cross country teams have joined with the ‘Soles4Souls’ organization in order to make an effort to give back to those who are in desperate need of footwear. The cross country teams are working out of UNCP and will be collecting donations of shoes, new or used, through November 20.

Soles4Shoes has a simple concept according to their website, (http://www.soles4souls.org/), they get shoes and give them away.

The idea behind gifts of shoes is nothing new to the Soles4Souls team, as they coordinated relief efforts for the Asian Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, netting over 1 Million pairs donated for these disasters. The team originally operated as www.katrinashoes.org with several churches partnering in the collection and distribution of footwear.

The idea first came to senior runner Bonnie MacDonald. “I thought it would be great to get our team involved with an organization that helps so many people,” MacDonald said. “I mean, we get shoes to practice and compete in all the time. We all agreed that getting involved with Soles4Souls would be a great opportunity to give back.”

It is estimated that over 1.5 billion pairs of shoes lay idle in American closets while over 300 million children around the world are without shoes. With your help you can contribute to a Soles4Souls statistic that has them giving away a pair of shoes every 13 seconds. Soles4Souls has distributed products to people in need in over 125 countries on five continents, including the U.S., Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Swaziland, Uganda, Iraq, Peru, Thailand and Nepal.

The cross country teams have set up two drop-off locations on campus. The first can be located in the UC Lobby and will be available for drop offs between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The second location is in the English E. Jones Center’s lobby and is available for drop off at any time.

Soles4Souls facilitates the donations of shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Shoe companies, retailers, and individuals can donate footwear (both new and used). Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS, and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages.