Lions Club Shoe Drive Collects Over 1,400 Pairs of Footwear For Third-World Countries

The second annual Peterborough Lions Club Shoe Drive saw continued success as 1,402 pairs of shoes were collected to be given to third-world countries announced on Tuesday.

MPP Dave Smith (right) donated three pairs of shoes to contribute to the final total. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Gently-used or brand-new footwear of all kinds was accepted at the drive from the month-long campaign from May 14 to Tuesday. Community members could drop off their donations at the club at 347 Burnham St. or at designated locations around the area.

The shoes will go to Soles4Souls which are given to women in third-world countries to help them get out of poverty according to Judy Jenkins, Lions service chair.

“They clean them, they sell them in the market where they give them to kids who don't have shoes because in the third-world countries, the kids have to have shoes in order to go to school,” she said.

MPP Dave Smith remained involved with the drive, donating three pairs of shoes as the last official tallied donation. The inaugural drive last year yielded 2,549 pairs but Smith says this year’s number is misleading and is still an impressive feat given the circumstances.

“When they started the drive, it was just before the beginning of May and we had that storm that just came through,” said Smith. “They lost about 10 or 12 days of activity going out into the community to try and raise awareness.”

The club’s goal was 1,000 pairs and almost did not meet it until a surge of donations came through out of nowhere.

“The Peterborough community, they're outstanding when it comes to generosity," said Jenkins. "All of a sudden in the last week, we went from 540 a week out and now we're over 1,400."

The community can still contribute to the cause by donating to Bioped Footcare at 655 The Queensway, Unit 6.

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