Give your pre-loved tekkies a second wind

I absolutely love this initiative:

The Sneaker Shack and School of Hard Knocks SA (SOHK) are calling on runners and exercise enthusiasts to support a Project Run initiative to collect 250 pairs of running shoes this May, with 70 pairs still to go.

Together they are on a mission to collect and donate to those in need and keep quality running shoes out of landfills and on the feet of enthusiastic young runners. 

The Sneaker Shack founder Lolo Ndlovu explains: “We want to encourage our people to think twice before they throw those unwanted kicks away. We live in a society where many people cannot afford to get their own pair of running shoes, so this is where we are hoping to help and make a difference.”

Established in Johannesburg in 2015 as an in-store sneaker laundry service, The Sneaker Shack provides active individuals with professional footwear cleaning. 

Project Run is an in-store initiative set up to encourage all runners to donate their pre-loved running shoes to aspiring young athletes. 

With all The Sneaker Shack stores in Johannesburg and Cape Town acting as in-store drop off points, runners are welcome to drop their less worn and pre-loved running shoes and sneakers into the designated donation boxes. The Sneaker Shack team will clean the shoes and pass them on to those in need via running clubs, looking as good as new!

By donating running shoes rather than simply throwing them away, people will be contributing to a more sustainable, circular economy. The clothing industry is notoriously toxic on the environment, often encouraging a culture of seasonal consumption, rather than one of sustainability and care.

According to a Business Insider article, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second. More often than not, these preloved clothes still have many years on them and can be passed on to live a new life. It’s this sustainable living mindset The Sneaker Shack is trying to share with their community. 

As part of their 250 Soles campaign, The Sneaker Shack is on a mission to collect and donate over 250 pairs of sneakers to those in need and keep quality running shoes out of landfills and on the feet of enthusiastic young runners.

Ndlovu believes that a healthy and active lifestyle is a key ingredient to feeling happy and fulfilled, adding, “There is nothing like that post exercise feeling, the feeling of empowerment and the feeling of rejuvenation. Over the next few weeks, we are hoping to collect as many of those pre-loved pairs as possible, so that together we can pass on this feeling.

Joining The Sneaker Shack in their quest to spread happiness through sport is SOHK, a non-profit that uses a ground-breaking combination of psycho-social counselling and rugby coaching to support hundreds of young people without access to mental health services.

To get involved in Project with The Sneaker Shack and SOHK, head over to your nearest The Sneaker Shack store and pop your shoes in the donation box, or find out more on The Sneaker Shack website.

Stores are located in Rosebank, Sandton, Linksfield, Fourways, Bryanston, and now Kloof Street Village in Cape Town.

You can drop off your pre loved running shoes at the Hout Bay Harriers who meet every Tuesday evening that the Beach Club at 18:00. The Club are also in need of running shoes for their development runners, so if you have a pair of running shoes that you would like to donate, please support either your local running club or Project Run highlighted above. 

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