Today is National Shoe the World Day, a day that shines a light on the importance of footwear. For many, shoes are a fun and fashionable accessory, a way to show off your personality and stay up to date with trends; for others, proper footwear is important to prevent injury, pain, and discomfort. But not everyone has access to proper footwear, and we’re doing our part to help fix that. Hansen’s is proudly committed to giving back to the community, and each year, we donate over $50,000 in shoes as part of that commitment. This year, we’re continuing our work with Soles4Souls and partnering with them to donate new and gently used shoes that would otherwise end up in landfills. 

Soles4Souls takes shoes and turns them into opportunities for a better future. They have multiple programs, including 4Relief, 4Opportunity, and 4EveryKid, to cover more ground when it comes to building a better world for us now and for generations to come.  

4Relief ensures that people in crisis have shoes and clothing, allowing them to use whatever resources they have on other things and ensuring they can focus on staying warm, dry, and healthy. They’ve taken over 300 trips to deliver nearly 400,000 pairs of shoes to people recovering from natural or manmade disasters. 

With 4Opportunity, Soles4Souls pays it forward. They partner with community-based nonprofit organizations in developing countries to help people start and grow their own businesses that sell donated shoes and clothing, creating a new generation of entrepreneurs and business owners. Those jobs help people provide food, shelter, and education for themselves and their families. Armed with 52 million pairs of new and gently used shoes, they’ve generated $536,612,126 in economic impact and helped to keep 81 million pounds of textile waste (A.K.A. trash) out of landfills. 

And finally, with 4EveryKid, Soles4Souls partners with schools across the U.S. to get new athletic shoes to children who are experiencing homelessness. Through this program, over 60,000 students have gotten new shoes to help them focus less on basic needs and more on their education. At a time when kids and teens are struggling immensely with their mental health, we want to help knock down barriers to education and keep them feeling happy, healthy, and safe. In fact, 4 in 5 students reported feeling more equal to their peers after receiving new shoes. Shoes are an often-overlooked barrier to opportunities like school, extracurricular activities, and even work – partner schools report a 95% increase in attendance after receiving a new pair of shoes. With this program, we can help make it easier for kids to thrive. 

Hansen’s is proud to help do the work to keep unnecessary waste out of landfills and help those in need around the globe. Help us protect not only our home but future generations as well. This Shoe the World Day, we want to encourage everyone to donate any gently used shoes you may have to help someone in need – you never know how much you could change a life.