The Town ‘N Kountry Kids Blue and Red 4-H Clubs recently participated in the statewide 4-H community service project of collecting new or gently used shoes for Soles4Souls. The project goal is to collect 10,000+ pairs of shoes that will be given to those in need around the globe. This past week at 4-H TLC (Teen Leadership Camp) in Brookings, delegates helped to properly package the shoes to be sent to Soles4Souls (S4S). The total number of shoes donated through Sanborn County 4-H was approximately 500. To date, close to 7,000 pairs of shoes have been collected across the state. The club will continue to collect shoes through Aug. 1 to work towards the 10,000 pairs goal.  Shoes may be taken to your local 4-H office or to a regional office, or you may contact any 4-H member.

Once the collection project is complete, S4S will ship the shoes to developing countries. If 10,000 shoes are donated on our behalf, S4S will coordinate a new shoe distribution with a non-profit of our choice in South Dakota. Soles4Souls approach to wearing out poverty includes: 1) Protect the environment: Repurpose new and gently-worn shoes and clothing otherwise destined for landfills. 2) Create economic opportunities: Utilize product to help entrepreneurs in emerging nations create and sustain small businesses to generate sustainable income. 3) Serve those in need: Distribute new shoes and clothing to those in need and in times of disaster around the world, even in South Dakota.   Visit https://soles4souls.org/ to find more information on the impact this organization is making.