A busy time for Reuseyourshoes!

The charity that I volunteer for, Reuseyourshoes, has so much going on this Fall
that I've decided to share it all with you via my blog:

Just this week, Bucks County Community College was given shoe collection bins and will be holding a campus-wide shoe drive for us! Has anyone visited Tyler Gardens at the Newtown campus? What gorgeous scenery right here in Lower Bucks!

Cub Scout Pack 30 of Yardley PA held a Shoe Drive for us at Shadybrook Farm's Family Fun Night
this Thursday! They collected 300 pairs of donated shoes (and I got my Kettlecorn fix)
  Our friends at Shadybrook Farm, Best Darn Kettlecorn, Integrity Auto, Reedman Toll Subaru, Tastefully Simple, and Task Complete have all been very generous in supporting Reuseyourshoes.

Shadybrook is offering a coupon for $4.00 off of Pumpkinfest or Horrorfest admission with a shoe donation.

Troop Leader Erik Sciortono and Kevin Kane with Pack 30 at Shadybrook Farm:

We are two weeks into our School Shoe Drive contest, with the school that collects the most shoes for us between now and December 31 winning $1000! We picked up 2 bins full from Poquessing Middle School, and 233 pairs from The Solebury School earlier this week. Your school can still get its "foot in the door" for this contest!  Please contact Kevin Kane at kkane@reuseyourshoes.com

Nicole and Eric from The Solebury School

You can help the Homeless! Our next Shoe Sorting Party will be at Reedman Toll Subaru in Langhorne on Saturday October 29th from 9am until 1pm. We currently have over 12,000 pairs of shoes - just waiting for feet - in our storage unit! We need YOUR help sorting and bagging them, so that we can deliver them to those in need in Camden, Trenton, and Philly. All ages are welcome at our shoe sort events. Please contact Elisa at reuseyourshoes2@gmail.com with questions or to receive emails about our volunteer opportunities.
If you can't make it, please help us spread the word!

                                                            Reedman Toll Sort, April 2011.

Got gently used men's dress shoes? Reuseyourshoes has teamed up with Ready, Willing and Able and Men's Warehouse to provide 100 pairs of men's dress shoes to residents who are ready, willing, and able to go back into the work force. We will be delivering the shoes the day of their annual fashion show, November 2, where the men will try on and select a stylin' new outfit to be worn on job interviews!

Are you a crafter? Know any artists? We are inviting artists and crafters to make an ornament for our first ever Christmas Tree, which will be on display at Treefest 2011 at The Bucks County Convention and Visitor's Bureau from Thanksgiving through the New Year. Anyone who makes us an ornament will listed as as donor. Last year Treefest had over 4,500 visitors! If you are interested,  please email Elisa at reuseyourshoes2@gmail.com  for details.

Like to get out and socialize? Come join us at our Casino Night FUN Raiser on Saturday Night, November 26th. Tickets can be purchased securely from our website. $40 includes dinner, beer, wine, live music, a DJ, and Founder/Director Kevin Kane as one of the blackjack dealers! 225 tickets available. We are a fun group to party with! Don't say we didn't warn you!

Need new kicks? Bring your old sneakers to Sports Authority in Langhorne and you'll receive a coupon for $25 off of any $100 purchase. Or if you are in Upper Bucks, bring your old shoes to Rugged Interior for 10% off any new walking shoes, trail runners, or hiking boots.

Bring your old shoes and these $100.00 Nike LunarGlide Men's running shoes will only cost $75.00.

Even better, they are made with 3% recycled material!

I saved the best for last! We are thrilled to announce that we will be receiving a grant from LibertyMe.

Last year, LibertyMe awarded two $10,000 grants to local organizations which support families in the greater Philadelphia area. This year they chose Reuseyourshoes as one of their beneficiaries. We will be receiving the grant at their annual Dance Showcase this December!

Thank you Bucks County for your support!

Pit Bulls & Shoeless Golfers

My friend Nancy has been so supportive of my involvement with ReUseYourShoes.  She understands that it's something I'm passionate about, and she helps me in any way possible. Nancy brings me shoes that she's collected at work; her daughter has loaned a hand at many of our shoe sorts, and they both came to our Inaugural Golf Outing last week to check out the shoelesss golfers, and just to be there with me.  Their support has been really encouraging.  I appreciate it, and I would like to thank them by bringing to light something that THEY are passionate about!

Not only is Nancy raising two wonderful young women, she also fosters Pit Bull breeds until they find a forever home. The program is through Trenton Animal Shelter.  Not only do they help at Adoption events every Sunday at PetSmart in Fairless Hills, Nancy and her girls routinely take dogs into their home who have not had an ideal life, and treat them with the dignity and the love they deserve.  During the foster period, I have seen these dogs go from malnourished and skittish, to the handsome and confident breed they should be. When I asked her if she is sad to see them go (most dogs are in her care for 4-6 weeks) she said that the pleasure in knowing they will now have a good home outweighs anything else. She and her daughters are wonderful advocates for this breed!

 Deanna has always loved dogs - mine included!

 Nancy helped "Red" find a loving home.

Nancy and Red, 6/22/11.

 Brooke and Dexter, Winter 2011.

Miss Brooke at Easter time.

 

Me with Kim Celano, Nancy, Dee, and Jess at the ReUseYourShoes Golf Outing.

Nancy and Dee on their evening walk!

Deanna and I at the ReUseYourShoes Awards Ceremony.

To see some of the dogs currently available for adoption, click here: Trenton Petfinder

To see photos from the ReUseYourShoes Golf Outing, click here: Photo Gallery

Thanks for reading my blog!

Dog Days of Summer

This is the short and sweet "friends and family" edition of my blog. I hope everyone is having a nice summer so far, and that you'll keep me in mind if you're cruising to Alaska or taking a camel ride in Morocco.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Sloane graduated from high school, and already left for summer session at Penn State today. Once Sam goes back to Towson in August, Scott and I will be empty nesters!

The only other exciting news is that the organization I've been volunteering for, ReUseYourShoes, was on Fox 29's "Good Day Philly" this week. Here's the link; and if you look very closely you'll spot me and a few of my friends: http://bit.ly/kwkbQq   I'd like everyone to know about this wonderful cause!

 The Graduates!

Cody's Annual Irises.

Blue Bells.

 Not to be confused with blueberries!

 Enjoying the longer days at Tyler State Park.

 Roasted Asparagus.

 Summer Rose.

Just one of our mascots!

The Crew at The Zoo

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to The Philadelphia Zoo with ReUseYourShoes. We were invited to collect running shoes and other used shoes at a series of 5K races that take place there on Saturday mornings. It was great to meet some of the runners and explain our mission. It was also great to talk to some of the other sponsors about what we do, and how we can help each other out! But the best part was being at the Zoo when it opened for the day and enjoying it with the other volunteers. When was the last time you were at the Philadelphia Zoo? Our Volunteers get to directly help our community and attend some fun events, so please consider us if you have some extra time for a great cause! Our next fun-filled Volunteer opportunities are sorting shoes while being filmed for Fox 29's Good Day Philly at Reedman Toll Subaru on June 9th at 9:00 am; and a huge Shoe Sorting Party at Churchville Nature Center on June 28th at 6:00 pm. Please email us at reuseyourshoes2@gmail.com if you'd like to join us! Children are always welcome- make volunteering a family event!

This family of four donated a pair of shoes each.

Glad this runner remembered her spare pair!

We take dress shoes too! They help homeless women or women in transitional shelters

have something to wear for job interviews.

 (The Polar Bear sort of wanted those white high heels...)

Seems someone is always getting seranaded at our events!

Pink Flamingos, anyone?

Think these two are more than "just friends?"

We take leopard print shoes too.

Meet Elizabeth, our youngest volunteer!

We appreciate all the shoes that were donated!

 We will get them to someone who needs them.

Thank you on behalf of Kevin Kane, and the ReUseYourShoes Crew!

Newtown's Welcome Day 2011!

If you're reading this blog post, chances are we met you at one of the 5K Races we were at recently, or Newtown Welcome Day. Welcome Day was a wonderful opportunity to let folks know right here that someone will take their shoes when they are finished with them. We are the somewhere.  And we promise to get them to someone who needs them.

ReUseYourShoes came to be just seven short months ago and thanks to you we are now collecting about 10,000 pairs of shoes each month.  We work with local shelters and organizations who count on us for shoe donations, so please keep us in mind and got to one of our collection boxes.  ReUseYourShoes is also a way to keep them of a landfill!
 
We appreciate the warm welcome we received yesterday and we want to thank Newtown Welcome Day for inviting us to the event, and the reigning Miss Pennsylvania USA for making a guest appearance. We especially want to thank everyone who came to our booth to learn more about us. We also wanted to share some wonderful news!  The 16 year old high school student who won the "Flip Flops For The Family" basket came to our table at the end of the day to claim her prize.  She promptly opened the basket and placed each and every pair of shoes in our collection box!  We don't even know her name, but a special thank you goes to this generous young lady.

Miss Pennsylvania USA came to greet our guests and also donated ten pairs of her shoes!

 

A visit from The Zebra Striped Whale.

 We were also seranaded by The Bucks County Barbershop Singers!

This Newtown runner and his son "ran" home and got some shoes to donate!

Some of our friends!

     What a group!

Our new wristbands were a hit. Tee-shirts coming soon!

Reduce!          Recycle!        ReUseYourShoes!