Make a difference with a June shoe challenge: No repeats, Nothing new.

I dared myself to a June shoe challenge, and I think it’s a way for us to make difference beyond my closet.

What started as a way to clean out my closet, is starting to become a way to make a difference. If I’m going to do something that could help others, well, I try to find a way. Even with a shoe challenge.

Yes, I’m that person who donates a dollar to whatever cause that pops up on a screen at the grocery store. And I’m happy to say that every time I’ve been asked to donate a phone call for the troops at an airport, I add it to my purchase. I like to open doors and help carry packages for strangers. Because we’re all in this together.

So here I stand in a pair of my beauties. I love shoes. The designs, the colors, the way they can change my attitude about a day or a project. People joke about shoe therapy, but it’s a real thing. And if it works for you, you are probably smiling or nodding right now.

I’ve been the same shoe size since 8th grade. So for those shoes that aren’t everyday-wear, well, I’m hoarding. I admit it. It’s hard to part with my little shoe friends.

But I don’t wear them. So either I need to get all-weird and build a shoe shrine for them, or pass them along to someone who would wear them.

My June shoe challenge dare:

No repeats, nothing new for the entire month of June.

Friends know that I have the wardrobe to support a 30-day shoe intervention like this. When I mention this to acquaintances, the first question: Do you have enough shoes to last the month? My reaction: I laugh and say yes.

If you’d like to join me on a June shoe challenge–it doesn’t have to be 30 days, it can just be a week–or dare someone to a challenge, I’ve got a way we can help others who are less shoe fortunate than us.

Head over to TheShoeThatGrows.org.

They make shoes that adjust 5 sizes and last five years – providing better protection and better health for children. For a shoe lover, it’s hard to imagine that more than 2 billion people in the world suffer from soil-transmitted parasites and diseases. My shoe wardrobe seems a little less delightful when I think about this suffering.

So let’s make a difference. I bet you know a shoe lover (aka hoarder) like me. Send this post and dare your friend to a shoe challenge.

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or head over to Twitter and we can chat right now.

“The Shoe That Grows started when Founder and Executive Director Kenton Lee was living and working in Nairobi, Kenya in 2007.

One day while walking to church, he noticed a little girl in a white dress next to him who had shoes that were way too small for her feet. That led to questions about why.
And finally an idea: “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a shoe that could adjust and expand – so that kids always had a pair of shoes that fit?”

And just like that The Shoe That Grows was born.”