Author: Soles4Souls

Separated by Miles, Connected by Hope

Poverty knows no gender barrier. 767 million men and women around the world are bound to life in its most extreme form. And your incredible support of our mission helps us break this cycle, creating sustainable jobs and providing relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing.   Yet every year on March 8, the […]

Lives Changed in Arizona

Through your support of our mission, you’ve traveled with us to many countries outside our own. And although the realities of life in extreme poverty may be harsher than you could’ve imagined, they may be a bit easier to accept under the guise of a “developing world.”   But how willing are we to turn […]

Yin and Yang: Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future

It’s December 26th as I write this. I should have done it sooner and my tardiness has caused extra work for some on the Soles4Souls team. I apologize for that. There’s just a lot to be done… Because it seems to me that those are the two exactly right feelings (what’s left undone and gratitude for all […]

Wearing Out Poverty at Maryland Elementary School with NSRA

“I like my new shoes.” When you grow up in a low-income neighborhood, that’s something you might not get to say very often. But thanks to Soles4Souls’ partnership with the National Shoe Retailers Association (NSRA), that’s exactly what we heard from a District Heights Elementary School student., Tina Howard. He then added, “I really appreciate […]

A Simple Gift Brings Joy and Hope to Carlos

It’s been our privilege to share the stories of some of the children we’ve met during our shoe distributions in the United States and all over the world this past year. Their transformational accounts of life before and after your gift of shoes embody the very essence of our work together—from risking injury and disease […]

Million Lighting Hosts Fourth Shoe Drive in Singapore

The Singapore company Million Lighting has held three shoe drive for Soles4Souls collecting 200,000 pairs of shoes and are currently holding their fourth until December 15th. Million Lighting, Singapore’s oldest lighting company and a trendsetter in providing lighting solutions for any and all needs, is the first company in Singapore and Asia to collaborate with Soles4Souls on […]

Her Smile was all the Thanks we Needed

Antananarivo. A complicated name for an even more complicated city. Here, in the heart of the island-nation of Madagascar, a tapestry of paradoxes unfolds. And it’s here where seven-year-old Germaine calls home.   Germaine represents the hardships of growing up in extreme poverty. She’s beautiful—her features a blend of a diverse African heritage with Arab, […]

Struggle and Hope in the Batey

Life on less than $1.90 per day is defined as extreme poverty. Extreme because it deprives its victims of the most basic needs—including an adequate pair of shoes. Extreme because it stretches the limits of what a human being should bear, adding impossible complexity to even the most mundane tasks. There are few places where this extreme […]

See how the Simple Gift of Shoes Gives Julio Hope

Where’s Julio? A question the teachers at the Hermano Pedro school in Antigua, Guatemala ask often. The answer is usually found in the kitchen, where this mischievous eight-year-old boy likes to hide. After sipping from the milk jug, that is. Beneath Julio’s playful spirit lies the heart of a fighter. He has down syndrome and has […]

Help Before Disaster Strikes

Before Soles4Souls officially came into existence, we were responding to natural disasters. After seeing dramatic images following the earthquakes and tsunamis in south Asia the day after Christmas 2004, the S4S founder-to-be knew he could help. Together with the footwear industry, and the help of two men who became founding board members, they delivered several […]