Heart-warming stories like this make even the worst day seem not so bad.  Even when times are tough, you can still help make a difference – the students at Van Buren High School show how:

Instructor Kristen Marshall, at Van Buren High School in Keosauqua, Iowa energized her students to help with relief for the Haitian earthquake victims.

After hearing about  Soles4Souls efforts to collect lightly used shoes for shipment to Haiti, Ms. Marshall (through her Rachel’s Challenge volunteer group at Van Buren HS) started a shoe drive as a service project. The students’ enthusiasm snowballed from an original goal of 500 pairs  into a county-wide drive that netted 2568 pairs of shoes for Haiti! Foot Solutions of Cedar Rapids is a drop-off point for Soles for Souls in Eastern Iowa and arranged to forward the collections to Soles4Souls regional collection center in Sheldon, Iowa for transfer to Haiti along with several hundred additional pairs left at the store by shoppers in the Cedar Rapids area.

Cedar Rapids Foot Solutions is continuously collecting lightly used shoes for Soles4Souls, who then ships shoes to the needy in the U.S. and other countries regularly.

What kind of shoes can you donate? All types of still usable shoes in all sizes are appreciated, even dress shoes. Dress shoes are frequently forwarded to shelters where recipients can use the dressier product to prepare for job interviews. In Haiti, people that might be barefoot or only wearing sandals in the tropical climate now need enclosed shoes to protect their feet from the rubble left by the earthquake.

Have you donated shoes to Soles4Souls? We want to hear about it- Share your story with us for a chance to be featured on our blog!