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How to donate shoes to the needy

CLIFFVIEW PILOT HAS IT FIRST: A drive to collect shoes for those without them has added bins at the Park Ridge Library and a River Vale realty firm, among other sites, but Gayle Gruenberg isn’t stopping: The human dynamo has the OK from the Westwood and Hillsdale libraries and is courting businesses in Washington Township, Englewood and Hackensack, while hoping more people donate shoes instead of throwing them away.

Photo Credit: Cliffview Pilot
Photo Credit: Cliffview Pilot

Gayle Gruenberg

That makes more than 50 already in an area that stretches from Demarest and Tenafly to Wayne and Kinnelon to Montclair and Irvington to Jersey City and Hoboken. If you leave anywhere in Bergen, you’re no more than 10-15 minutes away from one.

Gruenberg is aiming to shorten the distance even more.

The non-profit organization behind the drive, Soles4Souls, intends to distribute 11 million pair of shoes worldwide this year, through a mission of mercy that its founder has dubbed the “11/11″ campaign.

Gruenberg’s participation is unique. She operates Let’s Get Organized, a Bergen-based “sounding board, shoulder to lean on and extra pair of hands” that helps people in transition get things in order.

“I often work with clients who are downsizing their homes and won’t have the same closet space they have now after they move,” she said. “This presents a great opportunity to give back to others while paring down a wardrobe in anticipation of a move, due to a lifestyle change, or when cleaning out an elderly parent’s home.

“Children in other countries need shoes to go to school, they don’t have them, and therefore they can’t get an education,” Gruenberg, a Park Ridge CPA and mother of two, told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “Lives and futures are at stake, all for lack of a pair of shoes.”

Bottom right: Wayne Elsey



Former footwear executive Wayne Elsey was watching newscasts of the 2004 tsunami when he saw a clip of a shoe washing up on the beach. “All of my life, since I was 15, I worked in the shoe business,” Elsey said. “So I thought, ‘Why not collect shoes?’ “

He put a call out to friends and business associates, hoping for a couple thousand pair. Soles2Souls collected 250,000 pair of donated shoes that it sent to tsunamai victims in Southeast Asia.

What came next was truly remarkable: Hurricane Katrina struck the south soon after, and Soles 4 Souls gathered and shipped 1.1 million pair to those in need.

The rationale: Hookworm and other diseases kill countless people worldwide. What’s more, Elsey said, “A pair of shoes can make someone look to a brighter day. You don’t have to worry about where you’re walking, stubbing your toe. You don’t have to worry about the elements, the heat, the cold, etc. “All they have to worry about  is moving forward.”

The United States alone tosses away more than 300 million pairs of shoes a year — while more than 300 million children worldwide have none, he says, while describing the ambitious “11/11″ campaign.

To this point, the non-profit has distributed 5.5 million pair in 127 countries, thanks to schools, organizations and individuals. But Elsey wants to do more.

So does Gruenberg.

The founding president of the North Jersey chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers is hoping to get houses of worship, community centers, civic groups, retailers, and municipalities throughout New Jersey to participate – an effort she expects will accelerate once everyone is back from vacation and youngsters are back at school.

To get involved, call Gruenberg (201-248-5208) or email her: Gayle@LGOrganized.com.

Tell her CLIFFVIEW PILOT sent you.

Soles4Souls accepts all kinds of shoes as long as they are new or gently worn: athletic shoes, dress or casual shoes, flats or high heels, fashion boots, work boots, flip flops and sandals, hiking boots, and snow boots.

Or if you want, you can donate money: 97 cents of every dollar directly buys a pair of shoes for someone in need. 10 bucks = 10 pair.

If you’re a more active type, you could sponsor your very own shoe drive. Clean out your closets and invite friends to do the same. Gruenberg can help you.

For a listing of dropoff centers in Bergen County and elsewhere in North Jersey, go to: GiveShoes.org. It is one of the best organized and presented websites around, with clearly labeled sections, every direction and FAQ spelled out, videos by Elsey and others explaining the charity and even free live online help if you somehow have a question that isn’t answered on the site. The site gives you step-by-step instructions, along with hints, tips, suggestions and examples of success stories.



 


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