The Shirt Box has announced its partnership with metro Detroit non-profit Heart 2 Hart Detroit to launch the “Soles for the City” campaign. Beginning April 1, the campaign will serve as a collection for new and gently used shoes and boots throughout the metro Detroit area to benefit Detroit’s homeless population.
Individuals are encouraged to donate new and gently used shoes and boots to The Shirt Box during business hours, Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thursday, 9:30 – 7 p.m. Shoes will then be collected by Heart 2 Hart Detroit and distributed to individuals in need. The Shirt Box is located at 32500 Northwestern Highway, Farmington Hills.
According to the National Survey of Programs and Services for Homeless Families, Michigan had an estimated 1,825 homeless families on a single night in 2011 and Detroit had the third highest number of both homeless individuals (11,913) and persons in families (6,149) in the country in 2008.
“Footwear is often overlooked,” said Heart 2 Hart Detroit founder Larry Oleinick. “There continues to be an ever-growing need for new and gently-used shoes and boots among the homeless population that we serve.”
Heart 2 Hart Detroit was established to address the needs of homeless individuals living in the Detroit Metropolitan area. Deliveries of clothing, shoes, packed lunches and toiletries are made three times a week to Hart Plaza and the surrounding area and shelters.
Heart 2 Hart Detroit volunteers pride themselves on providing more than tangible items to the individuals they meet. The organization places an emphasis on building relationships with the people they serve by starting conversations and offering words of encouragement, with a goal of establishing a sense of consistency within a community that has little to rely on.
“The seasons are changing and as we begin to clean out our closet and tuck away our winter gear it is important that we remember how much another person could benefit from the shoes that we may no longer have any use for,” said Ron Elkus, co-owner of The Shirt Box.
For more information about the Soles for the City shoe drive, contact The Shirt Box at (248) 851-6770.
For more information about Heart 2 Hart Detroit please visit www.h2hd.org or call (248) 884-4434.
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