Donating Shoes is Now Easier than Ever!

When you clean out your closet and donate your gently worn shoes to Soles4Souls, you are helping to create meaningful opportunities for people in need all over the world. We utilize gently-worn shoes and clothing as a resource for individuals to start and sustain a small business of their own in places where job opportunities don’t exist.

Here at Soles4Souls we are thrilled to share that it is now simpler than ever, thanks to a few of our incredible partners, to keep your unwanted shoes out of a landfill and give them a second life!

DSW

According to Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), it’s cool to give a pair. And we could not agree more! Next time you visit one of their 500 stores in the United States, in addition to shopping customers also have the chance to give back. The footwear retailer recently revamped its 20-year-old loyalty program, which extends to its 25 million existing members.   

Now, when DSW VIP members donate a pair of their new or gently-worn shoes at any store location, they will receive 50 reward points (points are only given to DSW VIP Rewards members, but anyone is welcome to donate up to 12 pairs!).

“People have an emotional connection to shoes, and it can be hard to part from your favorite pair,” says DSW Chief Operating Officer Michele Love. “That’s why we’re thrilled that those shoes can live on through in-store donation. Customers can feel good knowing they’re helping others – sustainably—and be rewarded for doing good by earning points per donation.”

So far, more than 1 million pairs have been donated through Soles4Souls’ partnership with DSW. All of the donated shoes are distributed to our micro-enterprise programs that create jobs in Haiti, Honduras and other developing nations. The resulting revenue will help entrepreneurs provide basic necessities for their families. 

Zappos for Good

Interested in donating your shoes to help fight poverty, but not near a drop-off location? Zappos for Good has got you covered! To promote sustainability and in an effort to keep unwanted textiles out of our landfills, Zappos for Good is now helping people donate their shoes and clothing to Soles4Souls by covering the associated shipping costs.

All donors have to do is pack up their gently-worn shoes or clothing in a box (up to 50 lbs.), print out a pre-paid shipping label here, and drop your donation off at any UPS store in the U.S.

So far, Zappos has helped give a second life to over 151,000 items by shipping them to Soles4Souls. Thank you, Zappos for Good, for making it easier than ever to both protect the environment and impact people in need!

Brighton

Brighton is another valued retail partner of ours that has been committed to hosting shoe drives at their retail locations for many years. In addition to their staff members and customers donating impressive amounts of shoes for Soles4Souls’ micro-enterprise programs, Brighton encourages their local communities to get involved.

Through their campaign, running now through July 3^rd, you can drop your gently-worn shoes off at any participating Brighton location. No matter how many pairs you have to donate (we encourage you contact the store before donating), bring them to Brighton and they will ship them to Soles4Souls for free!

Since 2016, Brighton has collected over 400,000 pairs! To put that into perspective, 400,000 pairs sold by entrepreneurs in Honduras can generate enough income to provide a year of education for over 13,000 children. To find a store near you, visit our zip code locator.