Just Because | Irrelevant Ramblings

50,000 Pairs of Shoes in 50 Days

12/13/2008

240 180 50,000 Pairs of Shoes in 50 Days

I just heard about this charity Soles4Souls.Â Soles4Souls facilitates the donations ofÂ shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. They are trying to raise money to provide 50,000 pairs of shoes and they were trying to do it in 50 days. Â At this point there are 17 days left and they only have 9440 pairs donated.

$5 dollars buys two pairs of shoes people in need.

Here are a few reasons why youâ€™ll want to donate todayâ€¦

The person who donates the most shoes this week will win an autographed Amy Grant guitar (silent auction style)
With every pair of shoes you donate youâ€™re entered for a chance to hand deliver your shoes in person on aÂ Soles4Souls*Â trip to Mexico.
If you donate $25 (10 pairs of shoes) or more you will receive a free jar ofÂ â€œSave My Soleâ€ foot creamÂ compliments of sponsor, Underology.

And, the most important reason to give? Because itâ€™s the right thing to do and a simple way you can make a difference in the lives of people in need. Theyâ€™re nearing the end of this challenge and still have a ways to go to reach our goal.

What Can You Do?

1. Give

A $5 donation buys two pair of shoes. We can all give at least that much. Head over toÂ 50000shoes.comÂ and give generously and sacrificially.

2. Promote It On Your Blog
Why do you blog? Do you look at your blog as just a fun hobby or do you see it the way I see it – aÂ platform to bring changeÂ andÂ make a difference in the world? I donâ€™t care if you have 150 readers or 5, you have been given influence. People have granted you the permission to speak into their lives. Use that influence to make a difference.

Would you consider writing a post about this amazing event and spread the word? There areÂ graphics and bannersÂ available for your blog. You can alsoÂ join the Facebook groupÂ and encourage your friends to do the same.

3. Spread The Word
Your sphere of influence is much larger than just your blog. You have friends and family that are just a phone call or email away. Set aside some time to reach out to some people andÂ share this awesome opportunityÂ with them.

*Nashville-basedÂ Soles4Souls(TM) facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Since its inception,Â Soles4SoulsÂ has distributed more thanÂ 3.5 million pairsÂ (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.

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Living in Hell

11/23/2008

In my short life I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of different countries. And in each of the countries I have been able to see how and where people live. I have seen the homes of the rich and famous and have seen the homes of the poorest of poor.

When I was 11 my family and I attended Youth With A Mission. With this missions group we traveled to and around Asia for three months. One of the most memorable places we visited, on this outreach, was the Philippines. To this day I can remember the smells, the smiles and the beauty of the people and the country.

Manila is home to an estimated 19,150,000 people and is the most densely populated city in the Philippines. With all those people crammed into one area there are hundreds of thousands of “homeless,” as 33% of the population of the city live below the poverty line. Everywhere you drive the roads are lined with tin roofed makeshift shacks.

If living on the side of a major highway is not enough, you can drive down said highway to place called Payatas. Payatas is the home of the Metro Manila dump. This place is not only a dump, but it is home to approx. 10,000 people. That’s right there are 10,000 men, women and children living on a dump. Without seeing it, it is hard to believe that people can live like that, but they do. There are whole neighborhoods formed on the dump. These neighborhoods include homes, and believe it or not stores. For the longest time I thought that this was one of the worst places to live, but then I heard of a worst place.

What can be worse than living with your family living on a dump? How about living in hell, literally? Also in Manila, Philippines there is a place called the Manila Northern Cemetery and believe it or not there are approx. 10,000 men, women and children living in the cemetery. If living in a cemetery isn’t bad enough the cemetery is so overcrowded (by dead) that every five years the crypts are broken open and the bones are thrown on the ground. Children live and play amongst the bones and skulls of the dead.

Don’t believe me, watch this video by Bill Wilson of Metro Ministries.

It’s hard for me to believe that there are people that live like this, but I have seen life on the dump first hand. It’s encouraging to know that there are people, like Bill Wilson and others, that are doing what they can to help these marginalized people.