This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Singles Looking for Pairs

Bucks-based nonprofit Re-Use Your Shoes teamed up with the Single Volunteers of Bucks County to help put shoes on the feet of those in need.

The Single Volunteers of Bucks County paired up for a good cause at the last night.

The mates they sought, however, weren’t of the tall, dark and handsome variety but rather heeled, strapped and laced to benefit another organization – Re-Use Your Shoes.

Founded in June 1998, the Single Volunteers of Bucks County was the first Pennsylvania chapter of Single Volunteers of America. The group's focus is being a base where singles can perform volunteer work and get to know each other while making a difference.

Find out what's happening in Northamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jeanne Barney, a member since 1998, helped unload the truck carrying  hundreds of shoes Re-Use founder Kevin Kane brought with him to the nature center for sorting, pairing and bagging for distribution to the Philadelphia area’s poor and homeless.

Kane, who grew up in Levittown and lives in Jamison, founded the organization last October after realizing the number of good shoes his marathon-running wife went through.

Find out what's happening in Northamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While the initial idea was to collect old running shoes that still had miles to go of average use, it quickly expanded to include all sorts of shoes for men, women and children.

The businessman turned one of his company’s trucks into a Re-Use Your Shoes drop-off vehicle and began collecting shoes at drop boxes throughout Philadelphia, Bucks County and New Jersey – an estimated 100,000 pairs to date.

Shoes whose soles and uppers have seen better days are called "grind" and are donated to a Nike program that shreds old shoes into playground base material.

Shoes in good condition are distributed to organizations including A Woman’s Place, Bethesda Project, Laurel House, Libertae Family House, the Salvation Army and the USP Soccer Academy. Kane won’t donate to Goodwill because folks would have to purchase the footwear.

“Nobody will ever pay for their shoes,” Kane insisted.

Kane is looking for a non-profit willing to share some storage space. His dream is that it would be a storefront space where folks in need could come in and get shoes in their size for themselves and their family at no cost.

“The goal is Nirvana,” he said.

While that idea might seem a stretch right now, Kane never thought his running shoe collection would grow this large in just six months.

 “People want to help,” Kane said.

The amount of help can be sometimes overwhelming for Kane, who still operates a full-time business and relies on the assistance of non-paid volunteers to help him operate the organization. Folks wanting to help should understand if it takes a few days before an email is answered.

Northampton resident and SVBC President Kathy Masulis was especially happy for the group to work with Re-Use Your Shoes. At one of its beneficiaries is the Conshohocken-based Cradles to Crayons, an organization that benefits homeless and low-income family children, for which the singles group already volunteers.

The SVBC has helped out with all kinds of activities from ushering at plays, helping out with Newtown’s First Night celebrations, to pitching in for organizations such as the American Diabetes Association, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the American Cancer Society, and Special Olympics. They also meet once a month at St. Andrew’s Church in Newtown to package meals for Aid for Friends.

Masulis stressed that for folks who are unemployed, volunteering with the group can also help pad their resume with a number of worthy organizations' names.

“It’s also an opportunity to network with those organizations,” she said.

While group members stress that SVBC is not a dating or matchmaking service, at least three marriages and many long-term relationships have sprouted from the organization. The group's main goal remains volunteer work.

For more information on Re-Use Your Shoes and drop-box locations, visit www.reuseyourshoes.org.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?