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!      

ReUseYourShoes; The Right "Fit" For Me!

I've always wanted to volunteer to help a local charity, but sometimes you have to wait until the right "fit" comes along. Three months ago I started volunteering for an organization that collects shoes for the homeless, ReUseYourShoes. The whole point was to benefit them in some way, but it turns out that volunteering for them has really benefited me. I have met some amazing people from local businesses here in Bucks County who've donated shoes or given their support. In a short amount of time, there have been many opportunities to get my friends and family involved in something much greater than ourselves. I'm really proud of our Calendar of Events for the next few months. Please let me know if you are interested in helping or if you'd like to hold a Shoe Drive. And if you find yourself with a Spare Pair To Share, here's where you can drop them off: Shoe Collection Locations . Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Talk about commitment! Sam & I got up at 6:00 am on a chilly Sunday to help out at an event!

We helped ReUseYourShoes collect used running shoes at a race with over 500 runners.

Sam killed "two birds with one stone" taking this shot for her Photojouralism class.

Here we wait for the first finishers to complete an early morning race.

We made friends with twins. Still don't know who's who.

Hangin' out at Coffee And Cream with local supporter Sarah Lawson from DoylestownPatch.

Sarah and I pose with some other new friends at a Bucks County Tweet-up.

Scott's dad volunteered with me at one of my very first shoe-sorts!

I had seen this neighbor at our community pool, now we're friends after hours of sorting shoes together.

Another new friend made after an evening sorting shoes at The Churchville Nature Center.

Sometimes, shoe sorting is not easy, but its always rewarding when you're done!

Once the shoes are sorted, we bring them to homeless shelters, like this one in Philadelphia.

ReUseYourShoes Founder Kevin Kane with my 15 yr old neighbor, Deanna.

I recently got us approved for Council Rock School District's Community Service Program.

Volunteering is really a great way for families to help while working together!

Sam is now 21, so we both enjoyed some Margaritas at a ReUseYourShoes Fundraiser!

Not sure who was funnier, the comedians at Poco's Comedy Club or Kevin Kane.

If you have any questions or comments; please contact me at this email addess or

reuseyourshoes2@gmail.com

THANK YOU!