Category: Soles4Souls

Case Study: Aaron Brown, Weichert Real Estate

Wayzata, Minnesota real estate agent Aaron Brown recently spearheaded a shoe donation drive to help those in need around the world as part of Soles4Souls.   After hearing about Soles4Souls through the NALA’s cause marketing program, Aaron Brown and the staff at Weichert, Realtors-Advantage collected over 1,500 pairs of shoes.   The secret to their […]

Help Soles4Souls Respond to Natural Disaster Victims During the Big Payback

From the blog of our president and CEO, Buddy Teaster We recently had our all-staff retreat… a time to look ahead but also look at what worked and didn’t work in the last year. As we talked through the ins and outs, I made a mistake. I forgot to mention the devastating hurricanes in Texas, […]

A Commitment to Change

Working in partnership with NicaRise, an organization in Nicaragua committed to creating sustainable economic change, Soles4Souls will begin supplying entrepreneurs with a consistent supply of high-quality, affordable shoes and clothes so that they can begin earning an income. To say that launching a new micro-enterprise operation was an easy task, however, would be deceiving.   […]

Creating Opportunity In An Invisible Land

The following story of our non-profit partner Help the Children in Transnistria and profile of Lena Ahremtseva, contains elements from the forthcoming book, Shoestrings: How Your Donated Shoes and Clothes Help People Pull Themselves Out of Poverty by Soles4Souls President and CEO Buddy Teaster AN INVISIBLE LAND Halfway around the world lies a land where nothing is as it seems. […]

Change is Possible

This past holiday season, we had three amazing families leave the comforts of their homes to celebrate the season with us in Haiti to give back through the gift of shoes. Among them were Laura and Mark Howard and their 12-year-old daughter Kaia.   The Howards and their three children live in East Tennessee, a […]

Three Women

Our first encounter with Jounise Isma couldn’t have been more powerful.   Jounise lives in Haiti. She is a part of Soles4Souls’ micro-enterprise program and has created a small business selling shoes to provide for herself and her family.   Our director of Donor Services, Kelly Modena was recently traveling in Haiti with one of our most devoted volunteers, Michele James, […]

Sometimes One Word Says It All

A lot happens on our international shoe distributions. There’s the obvious process itself, of course.   Men, women and even kids from different cities, backgrounds and walks of life volunteer to give back. They load and unload bags of shoes together, sweat together, laugh and cry together, and make new friendships that last a lifetime. […]

Helping Women in Need Step Toward a Brighter Future

Soles4Souls teamed up with Toronto non-profit, Sistering to distribute 400 pairs of Ardene shoes donated by the Ardene Foundation. Sistering is a multi-service agency supporting women who experience first hand the impact of marginalization and poverty. They may be homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. They are a diverse group, from 16 to 80-plus years […]

Not Your Typical Teenage Boy

Max is not a typical teenage boy. And that’s exactly what his mother hoped.   Jeni Olsen wanted her son to understand and contribute to the world. She had worked extensively with teenagers and knew how easy—and normal—it is for children to be wrapped up in their own lives. So, from an early age, she […]

Changing Your Life While Changing Theirs

From the account of Soles4Souls traveler, Briana Marie. She is a lifestyle commercial and event photographer based in Napa Valley, CA. She travels internationally for multiple non-profits.   Last fall I traveled to Haiti with Soles4Souls as their photographer.  At the time, this was the fourth trip I had traveled with them.   From previous experience […]