UCFSD - MORE Foundation Shoe Re-Use Program

UCFSD Shoe Re-Use Program

The Green Initiatives Committee of the U-CF Education Foundation, with the support of the district, has launched a district-wide program to promote sustainability by collecting your used sneakers and fitness shoes. This program touches many facets of sustainability.  It keeps shoes out of the landfill and promotes re-use, as well as develops an environmentally and economically sustainable industry for developing villages.

1. Collected shoes from our district will be shipped to Runners Village, Ghana. There they are sold, and the proceeds go to setting up tree farms (fruit trees, trees used for buildings, etc.) in the village. The locals are trained to maintain them, creating a perpetual source of income.

2. The entire program is funded by the proceeds from the sale of the shoes.

3. The unusable ones (about 20%) go to Nike Grind, where they are ground up and used on playgrounds and other purposes.

4. The MORE Foundation, who executes this program, expects to take in about 300K pairs of shoes this year, helping 10 villages.

5. There is a box in either the gym or main lobby of every school in the district. Please drop off your old sneakers - any size, any condition.

Many people ask, “what happens to all the shoes?” The shoes are sold in major metro areas to vendors who in turn create jobs and help improve the quality of life in cities. The proceeds from the sale of the shoes provides training and tools to the poorest rural farmers. So many shoes sit in dark closets, forgotten and never worn, and then end up in landfills. Reusing these shoes further promotes the global efforts to reuse and recycle.

For more details on the MORE Foundation visit - http://www.morefoundationgroup.org/