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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Utah County shoe store wants your gently used shoes for charity.
From July 20 to Aug. 20, Sole Envy in the Provo Town Centre Mall will collect and donate the footwear to the Tennessee-based Soles4Souls Inc. The organization gives the shoes to people in need worldwide -- from victims of natural disasters to those living in extreme poverty.
According to a company website, the charity has distributed more than 5 million pairs in more than 125 countries, including the United States.
Soles4Souls founder Wayne Elsey says the donations greatly improves lives. He says Americans have an estimated 1.5 billion pairs of unused shoes in closets.
Elsey founded Soles4Souls after the 2004 tsunami that hit Southeast Asia.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
