Hot Springs woman volunteers with nonprofit to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes to give to those in need

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.- Collecting 10,000 pairs of shoes for a good cause is no easy feat, but a woman in Hot Springs said she is ready to take on the task.

“I’m just a volunteer, but I’m a dedicated volunteer,” Rachel Meador said.

Meador said she has been a volunteer with Soles4Souls since 2017 when she lived in Dallas.

Soles4Souls is a nonprofit organization that, according to its website , takes donations of shoes and clothes that they give to those in need.

“It is a nonprofit organization; they’re based out of Nashville, Tennessee, and their inception was in 2006,” Meador said. “Today, they have collected and donated billions of shoes and clothing to different families, individuals, and communities across the world.”

When she started volunteering with Soles4Souls, she said the organization was partnered with where she worked at the time. Meador said ever since then she decided to keep up her efforts.

“Ever since then, I’ve kind of taken it under my wing and started my own shoe donation and shoe drives for them,” she said.

She now lives in Hot Springs and reaches out to different people, organizations and businesses in the area to partner with them for Soles4Souls.

Once she receives shoe donations, she sorts and counts them, bags them up and then puts them in a storage unit that Soles4Souls has rented as a storage and pickup location to distribute to places in need.

“It’s with their Ten2Give program where I collect 10,000 pairs of shoes for them, and they, as an intern, will donate shoes to a local charity of my choice,” Meador said.

While it’s a huge passion, she says it’s that way for a reason.

“It warms my heart to see these people get shoes, which is the little things right,” Meador said.

Those who want to donate or partner with Soles4Souls can reach out at soles4soulsAR@gmail.com .

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