A Good Thing to Do Today: It’s a Shoe-in

Good morning, gentlemen.

Today’s Good Thing: Give away your old shoes to charity.

Shoes are one of those things that, for me at least, tend to disappear in my mind once I stop wearing them. I have shoes wedged in some pretty odd places in my house. Under the washer and dryer. Half sticking out of the hole in the back of my closet. (Don’t ask me how the hole got there in the first place.) In the past, I’ve tried selling them to pawn shops who look at the nicks and scuffs of love and shake their head no.

So here’s something cool to try today: find a shoe drive. Slate Magazine recently ran a story on Soles4Souls, a charity organization run by Wayne Elsey, a former shoe company executive himself. The organization distributes used or factory rejected shoes to people in need around the world. (Elsey was inspired by the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.) The way he figures it, there are at least “1.5 billion pairs lying unworn in closets across America.”

And we know there are at least a few in your closet that give you a twinge with guilt when you see them staring at you forlornly from your shoe rack.

How do you wipe that sad look off their laces? Check out the Souls4Soles website for shipping info on how to get rid of those old soccer cleats or barely worn sneakers. Throw ’em in a box and they’ll keep needy feet comfortable and safe. Plus, you get the added bonus of extra closet space.