Reuse-A-Shoe

On the Today show early this morning they were discussing spring cleaning and giving tips to help get us organized and healthy. They mentioned that Nike has a Reuse A Shoe program that recycles worn out shoes that are too old to donate to charity. They will take any brand of tennis shoe and grind them up and use them to make all sorts of sports equipment for kids including playground mulch and basketball courts. These are typically in areas where they would not have them otherwise and they are largely focusing on the New Orleans area. They have collected over 20 millions shoes and created 250 pieces of equipment.



You can read more about it here
http://www.innovateforabetterworld.net/community/features/reuse-a-shoe.html#
and at www.nike.com
You can send shoes to Nike Recycling Center c/o Reuse A-Shoe 26755 SW 95th Ave. Wilsonville, Or 97070 or call 800-344-6453 to find a pick up location near you.

I love when people/companies actually take the opportunity to create something from nothing that benefits so many. With as much as the shoes cost, they should.
We all have something that we don't need but may be of value to someone else in ways we can only imagine. All we have to do is to take the time and get it to them. Of course for shoes that are in decent shape, we can always drop them off at amvets or goodwill. There are three drop offs within 2 miles of my home that I know of. I try to keep a bag or a box in the basement and when I find something we don't need anymore, I will toss it in there instead of the trash. When the bag is full, we just drop it off.
I think often times we don't understand the importance of a simple helping hand when we do not see the direct effect it can have. Also we need to remember; a gift is a gift because someone receives it. It isn't a true gift if we require to be acknowledged or patted on the back because we did the right thing. I love anonymous gifts just for that reason.