Texas Ten2Give Drive Garners Community Support

A couple years ago, brothers Will and Matt Blount, along with their friend Mateo Bryce, came across a Soles4Souls donation box at their local DSW store. After reading more into the organization, the three teens were shocked to learn that more than 300 million people don’t own a good pair of shoes. When they saw the option of doing a Ten2Give shoe drive, they knew they had to get started.

It all started this past summer, just by distributing flyers door-to-door in their neighborhood in Southlake, Texas. As word spread, the boys began partnering with their school, church, youth organizations, and local businesses.

“It has been a great experience and I have really enjoyed giving presentations on how used shoes– something many people throw away– can really change someone’s life. It feels good to mentor other kids and encourage them to give back and start drives of their own,” said Mateo.

To date, the three have collected more than 2,600 pairs of new and gently worn shoes, and continue to push forward toward their 10,000 pair goal. 2,600 pairs of shoes can provide a full year of food, shelter, and education for 4 families– 10,000 shoes does that for 14 families.

“I lived in Latin America for eight years and saw the extreme poverty that so many people live in. Knowing that I am playing a small part in helping others is very rewarding,” said Mateo.

Once the 10,000 pair goal is met, Will, Matt, and Mateo will be able to distribute brand new shoes to an organization of their choice in the Southlake community. After reaching their goal, the three say they would love to travel with Soles4Souls and experience first-hand the joy of distributing shoes to people in need in developing countries– fully seeing the impact a pair of shoes can make in someone’s life.

“This has been a very rewarding experience. It is overwhelming to see how generous people have been in our community,” said Will.