Hitachi America, Ltd. 10th Annual Shoe Drive Collecting Gently-Worn Shoes to Help Soles4Souls Fight Global Poverty
Santa Clara, May 21, 2019 – Hitachi America, Ltd. (HAL) is collecting shoes to support Soles4Souls. One person’s unwanted shoes can help provide meaningful opportunities that many in developing nations need. For the past 10 years, the Community Action Committees at HAL’s corporate offices in New York and California have organized and led an internal employee driven shoe drive to collect new or gently-worn shoes for Soles4Souls, a non-profit social enterprise that creates sustainable jobs and provides relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world.
The donated shoes will be distributed to Soles4Souls’ micro-enterprise programs that create jobs in Haiti, Honduras and other developing nations. The micro-enterprise model provides individuals the ability to start small businesses by providing a steady supply of high-quality, low-cost product. They also give a second life to unwanted shoes, keeping them out of landfills and protecting the environment.
Over the past few years HAL’s corporate offices in Tarrytown, New York, Santa Clara, California (formerly in Brisbane, CA) and Chula Vista, California have participated in a friendly most shoes per person competition during the entire month of May. The three locations have two more weeks to compete for bragging rights.
The World Bank estimates that approximately 767 million people live on less than $1.90 per day. Many people living in extreme poverty simply do not have access to stable employment. The income generated by selling just one pair of shoes in Haiti can provide up to five meals for a family in need, whereas 30 pairs sold by an entrepreneur in Honduras can provide up to a year of schooling for a child.
Revenue generated by Soles4Souls’ micro-enterprise operations funds the organization’s free distribution programs. These distributions provide relief in many developing nations around the globe in times of disaster, and helps bridge the economic gap in the United States and Canada.
To host a shoe drive or find out more information, go to GiveShoes.org/Get-Involved.