FOOTWEAR APPEAL

Published: 06 May, 2010

Founder of Shoe Aid.co.uk Lee Todd appeals to footwear retailers nationwide to get involved in helping not only those in the third world who desperately need shoes, but also those close to home who are fighting cancer.

Lee Todd writes: Having worked within the footwear industry for 28 years, shoes have always been a big part of my life. However, whereas shoes are a means of expressing ourselves in the western world, there are many people for whom shoes are luxuries, and that is why I have recently purchased the domain name www.shoe-aid.co.uk with a view collecting shoes that could be put to good use overseas.

My plan is to collect 500,000 pairs of shoes by October through the installation of shoe bins in footwear stores across the UK. These unwanted shoes would be distributed to third world countries, where men, women and children are in desperate need of quality footwear for everyday wear.

In addition however, I also think that we as an industry have more than shoes to give. In conjunction with our nationwide appeal for footwear, I am launching a separate fundraising effort, which will hopefully see us raise £1 million pounds for Cancer Research. Alongside their shoe bins, I am inviting retailers to have a collection tin in store and, if they would like to help further, I would also like to provide stickers for certain instore items, telling customers that ten per cent of the proceeds of the sale will go to Shoe Aid.

Both of these projects will take a lot of hard work and dedication. However, I have already had support from celebrities, who have promised to donate their own shoes for auction to help our cause. With the help of retailers in the trade nationwide, I’m sure we can hit our targets, I am also hoping for the website to be online by the end of June this will show all retailers involved what they are doing for shoe aid week & will have a link to their website .

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