Shoe Carnival, Soles4Souls gear up for shoe drive throughout September

Shoe Carnival will hold a shoe drive during the month of September at all 300 locations nationwide.

In Florence, the store located at Florence Mall will be taking part in the Soles4Souls program, which provides free shoes for people in impoverished situations.

Stacy Carr, corporate spokeswoman for Shoe Carnival, said the company first began working with the nonprofit organization after doing some research into the organizations mission.

“At Shoe Carnival, we were looking for a strong partner organization whose mission we could embrace and Soles4Souls seemed like the perfect fit for us,” she said. “Their mission is one that really ties in to our company and one we want to embrace wholeheartedly.”

The program will begin Wednesday and continue until Sept. 24.

Shoppers can contribute in two different ways. One is through a $2 donation given upon checkout. The other is by donating a pair of gently used shoes to the store.

“Anyone who donates a pair of gently worn shoes will get a $5 off purchase coupon at any Shoe Carnival location,” Carr said.

Carr said all donations collected during the charitable event will go to support the work of Soles4Souls. The non-profit company has distributed more than 3.3 million pairs of shoes since it began in 2006.

Brad Stephens, region manager for the Florence Shoe Carnival store, said the store plans to advertise the shoe drive in a number of ways.

“There’s going to be a display box in the front of the store,” he said. “There was also an ad in (Thursday’s) paper advertising our Labor Day sale — at the bottom of the ad we mention the program.”

Stephens said store associates will be on hand to assist customers in making donations of either shoes or cash. He said they’ll also use the in-store public announcement system to inform people about the shoe drive while they shop.

Wayne Elsey, founder and CEO of Soles4Souls, said in a statement he’s thrilled to partner once again with Shoe Carnival for the event.

“Not only do the shoes donated by their customers make a huge impact on the lives of thousands of people in desperate need but also, the funds raised through the $2 donation program will buy new shoes for someone who has never owned a pair of shoes,” Elsey said.