Donate old shoes in Huntley

Every seven seconds, Soles4Souls Inc. gives away another pair of shoes to someone in need.

The nonprofit organization takes donations of gently worn shoes through drop-offs at participating locations, such as The Big Red Shoe.com, which is located at Huntley Outlet Center, 11800 Factory Shops Blvd., Unit 755.

For a limited time, Soles4Souls and The Big Red Shoe.com will be collecting your gently worn footwear and/or donations to ship the shoes to a person in need, whether they are victims of a natural disaster or subject to living in extreme poverty.

It is estimated that Americans have 1.5 billion pairs of unused shoes lying in their closets. The charity can use each and every one of these pairs to make a tangible difference in someone's life.

“We can use the shoes taking up space in your closet to change the world one pair at a time,” said Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls, Wayne Elsey. “We need our partners in The Big Red Shoe.com to help us change the lives of more than 300 million children worldwide who do not own a pair of shoes. We are grateful to our partners who have helped us distribute 10 million pairs of shoes, but the need is greater than ever,” he said.

People and companies interested in donating can visit the organization's website at www.giveshoes.org. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects, recycles and reuses shoes from warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you.

They distribute usable shoes to people in need around the world; they recycle less than 2 percent of donated footwear. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away nearly 12 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes. The shoes have been distributed in 125 countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nepal and the United States. Visit www.giveshoes.org for information.