May 17, 2015

White Dog watched the living room fill up with shoes as Steve brought in the bags and barrels we had collected this final weekend. Officially the Paws To People Used Shoe Collection Fundraiser ended on Friday, but we spent the weekend gathering the last donations from businesses who had served as collection sites across the city.

The shoes needed to be paired and tied or banded together and then grouped 25 pairs to a bag in order to make them ready for Monday's pickup by our sponsor. Clearly, thanks to the generosity of so many...including lots of our Blog Family members who shipped us shoes to help us reach our goal of 5,000 pairs...we had surpassed the target.

Once we load the bags of shoes onto a truck on Monday, they will go to a collection site where the entire shipment will be weighed. Based on the weight, we will receive a "finders fee" of forty cents a pound. The money we earn will be added to our total to fund a new research grant this year.

The shoes will be sent to impoverished nations where they will be used to teach cobbling skills and to provide small business training. They will be refurbished, repaired, cleaned, and then resold in community based stores.

White Dog had the honor of adding the very last pair of shoes to the last bag to be bundled...my favorite pair of crocs. "It is like the end of an era," she said, "both of this project since we have worked on for nearly two years and for these shoes you always wear."

Loading shoes on Monday...231 bags of 25 pairs each.

The last bag goes on the truck! Woohoo!

The immediate reward for such a great job...the WDA is expecting a carry out box!

THANK YOU to each member of our Blog Family who sent us shoes from all over the country. Your support meant so very much to us...and you had a personal hand in helping to save lives.