Recycle those old shoes; they could save a life

Soles4Souls on Campus began its annual shoe collection fundraiser for people in poverty last week and will continue until April 3. Modeled after the national Soles4Souls, which started in 2006, the Southeast Missouri State University offshoot began its campus campaign in 2011 and this year has set the goal at 10 thousand pairs of shoes.

It is easy to take little things such as footwear for granted, but to those who are poor, particularly those who live in impoverished nations, shoes are anything but little things. Rather, they are difficult to come by, and that's where Soles4Souls comes in.

The national organization has reportedly "distributed 26 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries."

Shelbey Walker, a Southeast junior and president of the Soles4Soles on Campus told the Arrow, "Most people in developing countries don't have shoes. They could get scrapes on their feet. Disease transfers."

In other words, a pair of shoes could be the difference between comfort and pain or health and sickness. And throughout the years, Southeast has collected 36,000 pairs of shoes. Those shoe soles represent souls who have been blessed and provided for in a way that most of us do not consider. We throw away shoes we have barely worn.

No more.

Instead, take them to St. Andrews Lutheran Church, and volunteers will take care of the rest. They will prepare them, box them, and have them waiting for a semi-truck-trailer, which will transport them to Soles4Souls, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

Souls4Soles will accept all type of footwear, including "high heels, flip-flops, tennis shoes, rain boots and cowboy boots."

Imagine this: A person in need here in the U.S. or across the globe will wear your shoes -- the ones that were sitting in the back of your closet or no longer fit or are "gently used."

"But these shoes are a bit worn," you might think of a pair you own, but even those can be put to use, so do not underestimate how significant your donation is.

At times, we feel inadequate to help those in need. We may not have a lot of extra money to give to a charity or extra hours to volunteer at a women's shelter, but most of us do have at least one pair of shoes we could donate to those who may not have any.

This is a great fundraiser. Please participate by dropping off your shoe donation to St. Andrews by April 3.