Battle of the Boot: donate used shoes for clean water project

Wondering what to do those with those gently-used shoes in your closet? Turn spring cleaning into a community service project that serves two communities at once! When you donate used shoes to the campus Shoe Drive, the shoes are sold to a secondary market for reuse both locally and globally and those revenues fund projects to to build clean water wells in developing communities. This serves to keep shoes out of landfills and to provide safe water for those who previously lacked easy access.

This year WashU, SLU and Fontbonne are working together to help fund a well that will bring clean, fresh water to Kashongi Village in Uganda. The challenge, titled “Battle for the Boot” ends April 30. The collective goal is 15,000 pairs of shoes. The Danforth Campus has an aggressive goal of collecting 3,000 pairs of shoes.

The Battle of the Boot shoe drive is in conjunction with Shoeman Water Projects, a local organization that works to collect and re-sell new and gently used shoes and uses the revenue to provide clean water in communities in developing countries.

You can drop shoes off in labeled bins in any of the following locations:

• Myers Hall (Office of Sustainability)
• Alumni House
• Millbrook Facilities building
• Sam Fox School (Givens and Bixby Halls)
• Women’s Building (Campus Card Office)
• North Campus cafeteria
• Athletic Complex (Student Athlete Lounge, Bottom Floor)
• Bon Appetit Offices (next to Bear’s Den)

If you would like a collection bin in your building or office area, please contact Cheryl Waites at 314-935-3646.

Source: WashU Sustainability website