Soles4Souls Kicks Off Barefoot Week

Soles4Souls kicked off its annual Barefoot Week campaign June 1 with nationwide events leading up to “National Barefoot Day” on June 7. This year, the Nashville, TN-based charity distributed 50,000 pairs of new shoes to the homeless and to children’s advocacy programs in Atlanta; Birmingham, AL; Portland, OR; Indianapolis; and Los Angeles. A host of community barbeques and parties also took place as well as a request for members of the media to go barefoot for at least four consecutive hours and report on the effects to their respective audiences. Additional fundraisers like shoe drives and retail trade-ins further boosted donations. 
Chris Carmichael, Soles4Souls’ spokesperson, says the goal of the weeklong effort is to increase the charity’s profile within major U.S. cities, heighten people’s awareness of its local and global efforts, and to encourage participation. “When someone participates in handing out shoes to people in need, we will have another advocate for our mission,” he says. “It’s a powerful moment to see the pure joy in someone’s face when they know the new shoes are a gift with no strings attached.”