i’ve been talking about a secret project i’ve been working on the last few weeks…today’s the official launch day!
IT’S THE LAUNCH OF 50000SHOES.COM!
soles4souls is an amazing charity here in nashville that has one mission: get shoes to people who need shoes. over 300 million people around the world don’t have shoes and are forced to walk around unsafe and in potentially life-threatening conditions. not only is it unsafe physically, but having to look down all the time causes these people to also live without dignity and confidence.
just a few weeks ago, i was meeting with wayne elsey, the founder and CEO of s4s and he asked me what is the craziest thing we could do using social media to meet this huge need? what kind of ridiculous goal could we create? and literally ten minutes later we had the answer.
let’s get money raised for 50,000 shoes in 50 days and make it as easy as possible for people to not only donate online, but to spread the word about the campaign. the only way this goal can be reached is if you not only donate $5, but spread the word!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
go to 50000shoes.com. a $5 donation buys two pairs of shoes.
everyone has $5 (or more!). and everyone has 2 minutes. from start to finish, donating is literally three clicks. no fluff. no hassle. anyone can donate. it is so, so easy!
and it’s easy to spread the word. use the graphics on your blog. email everyone you know. join the facebook group and ask your friends to do the same!
YOU CAN WIN A TRIP TO GIVE SOMEONE THEIR FIRST PAIR OF SHOES!
besides the fact that the blogging world can literally impact 50,000 people before the end of the year, one person (and their guest) will be chosen at random to hand deliver the shoes they purchased on a s4s trip to mexico. can you imagine handing someone their very first pair of shoes? it could be a child. or it could be a mother. or a father. or a grandmother. who knows?!
PLEASE DON’T CLICK AWAY…
we could have made the goal attainable – like 5000 shoes in 50 days. i have no doubt that could happen. but we wanted to show a watching world the positive power of social media. we wanted this to be a challenge for bloggers and people to unite in a way never before seen!
50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days. THAT’S HUGE!!!!!
please donate. please blog about this. please email everyone you know about this.
five bucks. three clicks. two minutes. that’s all and it can make a HUGE difference!!
THE MATH
if 500 people influence 10 people to donate, and those people influence 5 more, that’s 50,000 pairs of shoes (because remember – $5 buys 2 pairs!)…please help make this a reality! let’s blow it out of the water…can we raise enough for 100,000 pairs? I THINK SO!!!
300 million people around the world need you!
chris and i donated on friday. we are spreading the word today.
please join in! even non bloggers can help. just email everyone you know! take up a collection in your office or at your church. do you know someone in the press who can do a story on this? be creative!!!
forbes.com and cnbc.com have already picked up on this…and we have only just begun. with your help (and only with your help) this can be a worldwide movement. i truly believe it can!
are you in?
====
Nashville-based Soles4Souls(TM) facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Since its inception, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 3.5 million pairs (or one pair every 23 seconds) to people in 61 countries, including Honduras, Romania, Thailand, and the Sudan. The charity has been featured on CNN Headline News, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, ABC News, FOX, CBS, and hundreds of regional outlets around North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS; donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.
Mine’s up!
Hope my youth group can do some damage.
I’m in! I actually had the privilege of giving a few people their first pair of shoes on a jr. high mission trip. I’ll never forget that feeling!
Thanks for the note…Just donated and posted it on my blog as well.
love this.
mine’s up too.
excited to see this goal not only met but exceeded. :)
I blogged about it :) (And donated, of course)
I’m excited about today. Just posted on my blog. Anticipating great things!
I posted on my blog and donated this morning! I can’t wait to see the outcome!
I just bought two pairs of shoes for only $5. What a bargain.
My post is up!
LifeChurch.tv just participated in this… our campus alone brought in almost 1,400 pairs of shoes.
Anne- Good work on being a part blessing some orphans all around the world.
I got bold too, I asked 50 of my readers to donate at least $5. Lord willing, we’ll get there!
I’m in. Just donated and posted on my blog. Wonder if we should get everyone we know to Twitter #Soles4Shoes or some other event tag at one time and see if we can blow Twitter up with it. Anne… you or Los could cordinate easily.
I’m already seeing some momentum from the post i did about this a few minutes ago. Thanks, Anne, for the opportunity… you rock.
This is such a great idea! Here from BooMama’s blog. I donated and will be posting today.
mine is up
http://paulsnyder.wordpress.com/
Just finished my post on this.
Lisa and I are both giving towards this. Even my 7-year-old daughter Chloe is buying shoes with her own money.
I’ll continue to spread the word over the next 50 days.
It took literally 2 minutes! Personal and work blogs are both sporting a Soles for Souls banner today!
I’m in… Oh, and it was sooooooo easy – the site looks great!! I’m excited and can’t wait to watch the numbers grow all for His glory! I love the heart of the S4S ministry.
Thanks for the opportunity to be apart of something so great! I was actually shoe shopping yesterday and then thought about this charity and realizing how many shoes I actually do have decided not to buy a new pair and donated instead.
Mine is up too. Thanks for letting me be part of this.
Its up and running… hopefully we will see this goal surpassed.
In like Flynn. I bought 20 pairs and it’s up on my blog this morning…lot’s of people buying shoes right now. Good stuff!
http://www.thisisreverb.com
Blogged and donated! Can’t wait to see how many others help!
I LOVE this! It’s on my blog. Can’t wait to watch what happens.
Thanks for the heads up!
Mines up! This is going to be AWESOME!
donated and blogged!
awesome idea!
My post has been up for a few hours. I’ve already received people commenting that they’ve donated. This is awesome, Anne. Thanks for letting us in on it!!
Donated and posted on blog, Facebook and Twitter early today. Praying for God to do the impossible! Thanks for leading the charge!
Pam
I’m IN!!
I donated, and posted about it on my blog.
(It’s amazing how God uses you to give me opportunities to “practice what I preach”. I just did a blog about compassion/generosity this AM! Last time I did something like that, you lead the “Mosquito Net” charge, and I not only donated to that, but ended up sponsoring a beautiful little girl in Honduras! Thanks for letting Him speak to me through you!!!)
Heading over to Twitter and Facebook, now.
Thanks for letting us know about this awesome opportunity.
Can’t WAIT to see what GOD does with this!!! ;-)
donated, blogged, facebooked.
can’t wait to see what happens…
http://melindalgroth.blogspot.com/2008/11/shoe-shopping-spree.html
I love it! Great think-tank!
cool. will blog soon.
it is so cool to see God’s hands at work through all these comments!!!!!
donate. check.
blog. check.
Donated. Blogged. Myspaced .Twittered. Facebooked.
Thanks for letting us play a part. I’m also anticipating great things!
I donated and posted, too!
Darn, I commented back at 8:50ish am your time – where’s it gone? Could you check your spam or whatever?
Anyway, shoes purchased, blog posted, facebook group joined, world changed (just a tiny bit).
Great stuff, Anne.
just donated. also in the process of blogging. btw, check out this article i did on Wayne and S4S about a year ago: http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=soles4souls-1
Got it on my blog!!
is there any way to find out how many shoes have been purchased today?
Anne,
I added it to my blog….the cool thing, I have worked a camp (Royal Family Kids Camp) for the past few years. This past year….Soles 4 Souls partnered with RFKC camps and provided the kids at all the camps a pair of shoes. These kids who come from abused and neglected homes were quite pleased to receive a new pair of clogs. So you have my support for this….
Thanks and Be Blessed!!!
S.
hit me up when you get a chance. i got an opportunity to talk about with you, regarding this project.
donated, blogged, twitted, facebooked. Thanks for getting is mobilized Anne!
’tis on my blog. here’s hoping to lots ‘o’ shoes!
Anne,
Until I started working with the homeless, I had no idea how much they need shoes. Check out this post I did below.
http://churchformenflorida.blogspot.com/2008/03/put-yourself-in-their-shoes.html
bought four pairs of shoes and twittered it……will post a blog later this week! I goes well with our idea of promoting a different kind of Christmas as well!
We are up and running as of yesterday. 3 different sites! Awesome idea..great ministry and seems like its working!
I posted a quick blog about it and am heading over to donate…
i’m in –
and i posted it.
thanks for letting us participate.
:)
I was trying to figure out some creative way to get the word out and get some more shoes bought, but I decided to just buy another pair and stop thinking.