Resources
You’ve read Molly Periwinkle’s Perfect Shoes and now your child is asking about donating their outgrown shoes. That’s amazing!!! One of the hopes in writing this book is that it would begin a dialogue with our children about helping each other and helping our planet.
Below are some ideas for ways we can donate, sell, and repurpose our outgrown shoes. This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather a starting place to help parents and caregivers with ideas for outgrown shoes and other clothing. If you have additional ideas, I would love to hear them!
Donation
Search for local nonprofits who work with children and families. These groups often need items for children in crisis. Check their websites for current needs or give them a call to see if they’ll take your donations. Reaching out to your local United Way is a good place to start if you need help finding a local charity!
There are several national and international nonprofit organizations who would love your child’s shoes. Soles4Souls and Samaritan’s Feet are a couple of ideas!
There are also organizations like Goodwill and The Salvation Army that accept all sorts of donations for resale.
Resale
There are plenty of businesses who will purchase your gently used children’s items, including shoes. A couple of chains include Once Upon a Child and Kid to Kid.
Recycle
Some shoes are just plain old worn out! If that’s the case with yours, there are other options. Shoes can be recycled into all sorts of things. Groups like GotSneakers and Nike Grind will take worn out athletic shoes and recycle them into something awesome. There’s also Terracycle, which costs money, but could be a good option for a school or neighborhood shoe drive.