The devastation and destruction in Haiti has touched the hearts of many here in Central Texas. The owners of Total Relief Footwear are teaming up with Soles for Souls for a shoe and boot donation drive.
It's not the first time the two have gotten together after a natural disaster. After Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston and portions of Houston, the owners of Total Relief Footwear knew they had to do something to help, so they held a shoe drive in conjunction with Soles for Souls.
"Austin responded, we got 3,000 pairs in," said Cam White, the co-owner of Total Relief Footwear.
Now, a year and a half later....
"If you will watch a lot of the people that are walking through this whole area are not wearing shoes, that's one of the things that really got to me," said White.
After watching the devastation in Haiti on television the past few days....
"My wife and I talked last night and said it's time for a shoe drive again," said White.
"When you see people crawling through rubble, dealing in muck and they are barefoot I mean what comes to mind is just everything they may be going through," said Celeia Tellez, the co-owner of Total Relief Footwear.
So early Thursday morning, Cam White got on his computer and started e-mailing customers with the news of the latest shoe drive. By mid afternoon boxes were already starting to fill up.
This Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m., a Total Relief Footwear van will be in the parking lot at the Woodland shopping center at the corner of U.S. 183 and Anderson Mill for donations. They are looking for work boots, sneakers and children's shoes.
"And it is an easy thing to do, we have shoes in our closet that we don't wear anymore that don't fit or that we have outgrown," White said.
"And if Austin shows up like they did for Ike it will be pretty amazing," Tellez said.
The folks at Total Relief Footwear say while the shoe and boot drive will last through January, they encourage those who want to donate to do so quickly. All shoes and boots collected here in Austin have to be boxed and shipped to the Soles for Souls distribution center in Alabama.
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