Shoes Needed for Emergency Victims

September 19, 2007

Dear Friends of Walk2BFit & Soles4Souls, In the last six weeks, the Western Hemisphere has been hit with major catastrophes. We have experienced major flooding in the U.S., an 8.0 earthquake in Peru and two Category 5 Hurricanes in Central America. This has caused over a thousand deaths, over a million displaced people and billions of dollars in damage. The time to act is now.  Our OUTREACH Division is moving product to the hurting as fast as we are receiving it. This week alone, we have commitments of over 125,000 pairs coming in for distribution, but the need is more than we currently have. We would like to distribute 1 Million pairs in the next 2 months to the hurting all over the world. A simple pair of shoes can change a life. Over the last few months we have distributed over 40k pairs of product in the Bronx and have not even scratched the surface for the hurting in New York. We just distributed 18k pairs to Foster Kids in the South — and there are over 500k more foster kids in the US. Last month, we distributed more than 30k pairs of shoes to one refugee camp in Africa. The list goes on and on all over the world. As soon as one child receives a pair of shoes, two more bare feet arrive.

Yesterday, we started a city-wide campaign in our hometown of Nashville. The STEP UP Nashville Campaign is our way to let you know that something as simple as cleaning out your closet can change a life. If you are retailer or wholesaler, we can use your sale samples, odds and ends and discontinued product to be distributed to the hurting folks in the US and abroad.

We need your help. I ask the following:

1. If you live in the Nashville area, spread the word about our STEP UP NASHVILLE Campaign and clean out your closets.

2. Get involved — send your donated shoes to our Las Vegas or Alabama distribution centers.

3. Offer financial help. Every pair of shoes costs about a dollar to be shipped to its location, and all contributions are tax deductible.

For more information, visit our website at www.giveshoes.org or www.soles4souls.org. Feel free to contact our team at (615) 391-5723.

Thank you in advance for helping us Change the World — One Pair at a Time.

Kindest Personal Regards,

Wayne Elsey
Founder & CEO, Soles4Souls Inc.
www.giveshoes.org

Hurricanes in Central America

Hurricane Dean was a Category 5 hurricane that affected more than fifteen countries. 42 lives were claimed in the Carribean, Mexico and Central America. It also caused nearly 4 billion dollars in damage. Hurricane Felix was also a Category 5 hurricane that hit Central America right after Hurricane Dean. It claimed at least 133 lives, mostly in Nicaragua. Hundreds of others are still missing.

According to official information, at least 40,000 people have been affected and 9,000 houses destroyed, most of them in the Nicaraguan city of Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas), where a “State of Disaster” has been decreed by the government. A total lack of supplies and services has been also reported in the area. Thousands of residents in Honduras and Guatemala have been displaced due to inland flooding.

Earthquake in Peru

The 2007 Peru earthquake or the Ica earthquake measured 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The cities of Pisco, Ica and Chincha Alta in the Ica Region, and San Vicene de Canete in the Lima Region were most affected.

The city of Pisco, which is 160 mi southeast of Lima, was about 80% destroyed, and as many as 430 people living there died, with 148 of those deaths happening in a collapsed cathedral in the city’s main square. The government reported 510 deaths.

Seventeen people died when a church in the city of Ica collapsed and 70 were injured. They were attending mass at the time the earthquake started. In all, about 85,000 homes were destroyed. This has displaced nearly a half a million people, many left with nothing.

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Posted in Helping Others