To encourage school children in the UK to donate their outgrown but not outworn [school] shoes at the end of the school year, and enable another child to go to school in them.
To post the photographs of the pilot school's involvement on launch day on the Sal's Shoes Facebook page alongside a brief of the initiative and a copy of the letter sent out to parents before the launch:
** Toe to Toe **
At the end of this academic year we were delighted to collaborate with http://www.thehayesprimaryschool.co.uk in launching our Toe to Toe initiative. A few weeks ago The Hayes sent out this letter to parents:
July 2016
...Dear Parent / Carer
In a few weeks, the school will close and children will cheer to mark the end of this academic year. Before the children run for the doors to enjoy their long summer holiday, we want them to change another child's life on the way out . . .
We ask that at the end of the last day of term, they take their school shoes off and place them on their desk and leave school barefoot.
We will give the donated shoes to a child in Africa via the wonderful work of Sal's Shoes, a charity we have supported for a few years.
So those shoes, which are unlikely to be used again because feet grow over the summer or are a little scuffed so will be replaced in time for the new school year, won't just sit in the shoe cupboard getting in the way, but will have a second life. We'd love for your child to take part.
A whole school leaving barefoot is a powerful message that we want to help those fellow school children who have no choice and leave school barefoot every day.
Please help us to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves.
There is no obligation to take part but we would love to support this charity and the work they carry out in finding new feet for pre-loved children's shoes. To find out more about Sal's Shoes you can visit their website www.salsshoes.com or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/salsshoes1
P.S. Of course the children can bring in another pair of shoes to change into after walking out of school for their journey home; and if you have only recently purchased their school shoes perhaps your child has another pair of outgrown shoes they may wish to bring in and leave behind.
This is what happened at The Hayes yesterday [photographs] . . . if your school would like to jump on board and adopt Toe to Toe at the end of the Summer Term 2017 please do drop us an email [email protected]
After 12 days:
22,886 shares of the post
A reach of 2,431,866
24,000 likes
55 schools signed up for Toe to Toe at the end of the academic year
47 schools signed up for a collection on the first day of the next academic term
49 individuals offering to host collections
14 companies offering to host collections
2,864 comments
2,000+ pairs of shoes received from individuals in the post
- the ball has started rolling and the launch was a complete success.
