Phi Sigma Pi donates soles

Are you considering that old pair of shoes in your closet garbage? ECU's Tau Chapter of Phi Sigma Pi is collecting new to gently worn shoes across Greenville for donation to national charity Soles4Souls. The co-ed national honors fraternity began a collection of donations in late October and will continue into January. While 300-400 pairs have been gathered so far, the ultimate goal is to ship 1,000 pairs. Shoes can be dropped off in designated boxes set up in the student apartments of North Campus Crossing, Copper Beech and the Bellamy. The on-campus drop-off site is located in the student government office in Mendenhall. Phi Sigma Pi is accepting anything from flip-flops, clogs, dance shoes, high heels, baby shoes and adult shoes. Any footwear in decent shape is welcome. Please refrain from bringing ripped shoes or those with holes. After returning from the holidays, students should feel free to donate old shoes they had at home or any they received as gifts that they plan on never wearing. The fraternity is preparing to hold a concert in early January where guests will be asked to present a pair of shoes or a money donation. All proceeds will then go to Soles4Souls. Junior J.C. Lashley, Rush PR committee chair, believes that the post-holiday extension should ensure that at least 1,000 shoes are collected. "This has been a huge effort," he said. "It would really be rewarding to have that goal met." Phi Sigma Pi has been involved in other service projects throughout the semester, including Habitat for Humanity and collected care packages for the homeless. Soles4Souls, based in Nashville, T.N., distributes the shoes it receives from across the country either domestically or internationally, depending on the current demand. About 55 percent of each year's donations remain in the United States. International donations are distributed to 125 countries around the world. Crystal Elsey, donor and marketing services coordinator of Soles4Souls, Inc. says that wherever the shoes end up, they are desperately needed. "A pair of shoes can save a life. 50 percent of all world diseases can be prevented with proper sanitation and footwear. In a lot of the third world countries, they can be particularly life-saving." Donations are encouraged year-round, but the peak season is usually October through December, when donating is most popular and the fall semester is underway. Elizabeth Kirk of the charity's public relations and marketing said that donations at any time of the year can be dropped off at any participating locations that are listed on the Soles4Souls Web site. She said that no deadline is followed for shoe donations, but that every year they have to "try to collect all funds to ship shoes where they are needed." While there are 1.5 billion people around the world who have never worn shoes, 300 million of them are children. Incidentally, more than 300 million shoes are thrown in landfills every year, so with the efforts of Soles4Souls and groups such as ECU's Phi Sigma Pi, what was formerly wasted can be put to use. The fraternity's service chair, Demi-Anna Martinez, hopes people will see the worth in donating shoes. "I would like to remind people to think about how much we take for granted: Something so simple as having shoes on your feet … Imagine waking up with no shoes -- it just makes life so much more difficult."

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