17 Year Old In Latham Is Collecting Shoes For A Great Cause

I cleaned out all of my closets this week, so I personally have several pairs of shoes to donate to 17-year-old Josh Zeiser's Used Shoe Drive. I urge you to do some purging, too, and donate your old sneakers, shoes, sandals, and boots to a great cause!

Josh Zeiser has launched a drive to collect shoes to help the poor. Used and new shoes can be dropped off at Play It Again Sports in Latham.

The shoes that Josh Zeiser collects will be delivered to Soles4Souls, an international anti-poverty organization that monetizes used shoes and clothing to create sustainable jobs and fund direct relief efforts, including distribution of new shoes and clothing. Founded in 2006, the organization has distributed more than 22 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries.

Soles4Souls – which holds the highest rating from nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator -- will convert every used pair of shoes collected from the community into a value-added social currency to achieve positive change, both humanitarian and economic. Most of the reusable shoes will be distributed to microenterprise programs that create jobs in Haiti and other poor nations. The resulting revenue will help fund the free distribution of new shoes in the U.S. and overseas. Among its relief programs, the organization has distributed over 200,000 new pairs of shoes to help Philippine victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

If just throw them out, they'll end up in a landfill somewhere and they won't help anyone! Why don't you get behind Josh and Soles4Souls and donate your old shoes today!

Here's the info on Josh's shoe drive -

• August 1st to September 30, bring your used shoes of any kind to:

• Play It Again Sports

952 Troy-Schenectady Rd

Latham, NY 12110

• For more information, please contact Josh Zeiser at:

(518)925-9646 or JOSHZEISER@GMAIL.COM

Great job Josh! The whole world benefits from great young people like you!

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