Cleveland – The Delta State University men's basketball team wanted to make a difference in society; so they decided to donate 100 pairs of shoes to the Soles4Souls organization. Making a difference is exactly what head coach Jason Conner and the Statesmen basketball team plan to accomplish with the donation.

Conner mentioned the idea came from his players, “Several of our guys brought to my attention the idea of collecting pairs of shoes for soles4souls and we will give a gift of 100 pair of shoes.” Conner also stated that this is something the team was excited about participating in and believe that this donation will make an impact in someone's life around the world.

If anyone would like to donate a pair of new or “gently worn” shoes they can drop them off at the men's basketball offices inside Sillers Coliseum.

ABOUT SOLES4SOULS   

Soles4Souls has a simple concept: we procure shoes and get them to those in need.

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami that hit Southeast Asia, Wayne Elsey, the founder and CEO of Soles4Souls® Inc., felt compelled to do something. Like many of us, he did not know what to do. He was at home one night, watching TV and he saw a picture of a single shoe washing up on the beach. That triggered a few calls to some other executives in the footwear industry and the subsequent donation of a quarter of a million shoes to victims in the devastated countries.

A year later when Katrina hit, Wayne called the same group of friends, and they sent over a million pairs of shoes down to the gulf coast communities affected by the hurricane. In all honesty, he admits that he did not expect such an immediate and successful turnout. This left him wondering, why not start a non-profit and do this all the time? One year later, Soles4Souls was formally created.

It has been that simple: changing the world one pair at a time.

Soles4Souls receives large donations from footwear companies, retailers, churches, nonprofit ministries, civic groups, schools, and individuals and saw that this could become a full time organization. That's why Soles4Souls was created – to facilitate the donations from these groups to the people who desperately need footwear. 

Since its inception, Soles4Souls has donated over 13 millions shoes and one pair every seven seconds.  Fore more information on Soles4Souls, please click here.