You Did It! 900 Pairs of Kids Shoes
Another year, another fantastic result from our annual Shoe Drive. Once again, GrowFit has partnered with Shoes for Planet Earth, collecting nearly 1,000 shoes for children and families in need across the globe.
Over the course of 10 weeks, we saw a phenomenal amount of shoes pouring in from the Growfit community across New South Wales. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of so many families, with 900 pairs of good quality first- or second-hand shoes donated to Shoes for Planet Earth.
A warm-hearted and sincere thank you to every centre and every family who got involved in term 1.
A special mention must go to Viv Kartsounis for creating such a wonderful foundation that not only helps people but also works towards saving the planet from the over-consumption of shoes.
Shoes for Planet Earth’s mission is to provide recycled running shoes to those in need, as well as save the shoes from land fill. One of the world’s biggest environmental crises is fast fashion wastage. Australians alone throw away approximately 25 million pairs of shoes each year, which is around one per person. If you use that statistic to estimate how many shoes are thrown away globally, we could be looking at 7 billion every year.
What happens to these recycled running shoes?
This year, all the shoes generously donated by the Growfit community are headed to Hands and Feet Blacktown. Hands and Feet have supported our homeless friends, providing food packs and other necessities on a weekly basis since 2013, and will distribute the shoes to those in need around western Sydney. That makes us feel fantastic knowing that our combined efforts have gone to help the disadvantaged in Sydney ahead of this winter.
Thanks again for your continued support of Shoes for Planet Earth, and don’t forget to put your old shoes aside for next year’s drive!