300 Million Pairs of Shoes!!

300 million pairs of shoes were thrown away last year.

300 million shoes!!

Those shoes will decompose in our landfills. The toxic glue that holds shoes together may leak into our water supply and atmosphere, and 600 feet will go bare because of reasons beyond their control that have left them without shoes.

Before you throw away another pair of shoes consider this....

Your extra pair could be a someone's first. The pair you no longer need could be exactly what a family who has survived a natural disaster needs.

Jersey Family Fun is partnering with Soles4Souls and area businesses and community groups to change that. We are hosting a shoe drive from now until June 4, 2011 to benefit Soles4Souls.

Soles4Souls saves your shoes from being unwanted and filling our landfills. They collect shoes, any kind, any size, adult or children, matched or mismatched. They clean them and ship them to needy people around our country and around our world. Those shoes you no longer want or need will bring a smile to an adult or child less fortunate than you.

Can you answer any of these questions with a yes?

• Do you have shoes that no longer fit your child and you can't pass them down to another child?
• Are there shoes you have to fight with your child to wear because he/she hates them?
• Are you a fashionista who needs to have the latest pair of shoes, while last season's pile up in your closet?
• Are you a mom whose feet have changed size due to pregnancy and you no longer wear the same size?
• Are you a dad with too many pairs of sneakers?
• Did you buy a must-have pair of shoes only to get them home and realize you don't like them so much?
• Do you have shoes that you haven't worn in over a year?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then consider donating a pair (or pairs) to our Shoe Drive. Your unwanted pair of shoes can do more than give comfort to another person's feet.

• Footwear helps stop the spread of foot-related diseases.
• Footwear helps children attend school. (Many areas have restrictions prohibiting kids from school unless they have shoes.)
• Recycled footwear stays out of our landfills and its materials won't decompose into our soils and water supply.

Any business or community group who wants to get involved should contact me, Jennifer Auer at 609-634-5140. If you have a pair or pairs to donate please contact me, and I will arrange to get them from you.

Since its inception following the Asian tsunami, Soles4Souls has distributed over 14 million pairs to people in 127 countries. To learn more about Soles 4 Souls visit their site at http://www.soles4souls.org