There is a “DRIVE” for everything: Can Food Drive; Coat Drive; Penny Drive.
This past weekend I hosted my organization, The SlimHeart Campaign’s 3rd Annual “Soul to Sole” Shoe Drive. This shoe drive stemmed from my LOVE for shoes; and having TOO MANY shoes. I take so much pride in my shoes. Shoes make the outfit. You can wear a garbage bag as a dress and know one will notice once you have a killer stiletto to match that garbage bag. I feel like most of my shoes tell a story or have a special memory behind them; like a birthday shoes, or shoes you meet your future husband in, or shoes that got you out of a speeding ticket (yes that really happened to me). These “shoe memories” had me hold on to shoes longer than I needed to and it became harder to part with them.
My shoe collection was (and still is) so crazy, I had to store a few pairs in my mother’s closet. A few turned into a lot, and a lot turned into half of her closet. She wasn’t having that. That was the last straw. I had to figure out what I was going to do with the shoes I don’t want but didn’t want to part with? I started researching local Salvation Army and Goodwill locations in my neighborhood. I went to a few of them and noticed that they pretty much resell your stuff. What really turned me off, however, was how much less they sell it for. I’m saying to myself in my head, “I paid way too much money for a lot of my shoes for them to re-sell it for a measly $10-$15.” Back to the drawing board I went.
One random evening, my cousin was talking about her prom and the things she has to buy for it. This led me to reminisce about my own prom and how costly it was. That’s when it hit me; PROM DRIVES. Most Prom Drives, of course, have dresses. However, many of them lacked a wide selection of shoes for young girls to choose from to match the dresses they picked. I started researching local Prom Drives in the neighborhood that I can possibly donate my shoes to. I ran it by my mom and some friends of mine and they liked the idea too. They even wanted to donate theirs. That’s when I realized, there is a chance that I may not be the only one that has parting issues with shoes.
On Febrauary 22, 2012, not only did I start The SlimHeart Campaign, I began planning the very first “Soul to Sole” SHOE DRIVE. “Soul to Sole” means “giving shoes from our soul…to your sole”. The Shoe Drive has helped various local organizations in the NY Tri-State area that hosts Prom Drives for young teen girls in need or can not afford to buy a dress for Prom. These prom drives offer teen girls brand new or gently worn dresses for free, as well as accessories and shoes. By donating my shoes, I felt like I was giving my shoes another chance at creating new “shoe memories”(Prom) with a new owner.
The first shoe drive in 2012, we collected over 625 pairs of shoes and donated them to four local organizations in New York. Last year, over 750 pairs were collected. Each year, the number goes up and people become more aware and interested in the drive and fall in love with the cause behind it. The goal this year was to collect 1,200 pairs of shoes. Do you think The SlimHeart Campaign made that goal? You will have to follow The SlimHeart Campaign on Twitter or Facebook to see how many was collected. Also, follow us on Instagram. We will post the the total number of shoes collected once it’s given to us.
Here’s a few pics from past “Soul to Sole” Shoe Drives; including this year:
In parting, there is always some good behind a drive or passion for something. It’s up to you to show it to the world. It doesn’t have to be in a big and extravagant way. Always remember, it the littlest things that make the biggest impact.
Until then,
STAY GLAMOROUS!
*Photo Credit: Doughbwoy from LifeOfTheCity.com
The GlamMaverick 
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