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21 May 2013 | ShoeBiz Appeal

ShoeBiz - Transforming children's lives by recycling old shoes

What Is ShoeBiz?

ShoeBiz is a partnership between Clarks and UNICEF UK. Its been running since 2007 and the partnership aims to raise £100,000 each year.
100% of the money raised is donated to UNICEF and used to support educational projects around the World, including the UK.

How does it work?

Clarks has collection points in over 500 stores where you can donate your old and unwanted footwear. The items are then recycled and this is how we generate money for the appeal.
ONE PAIR OF SHOES = A PENCIL AND NOTE BOOK

How is the money spent?

The money is used by UNICEF to support educational projects around the World and here in the UK.
For example, with every £38 UNICEF can provide 40 children with a school in a bag. The bag contains basic items like a pencil, notepad and ruler. This allows them to go to school equipped and ready to learn. Without these basic items that we take for granted they would not be able to attend School.
There's also a School in a box, which for £170 has vital equipment to set up a classroom in a disaster location.

How can you help?

We'd love it if you could donate your old or unwanted footwear. Not only are you supporting a worthwhile cause, you are also supporting the environment by things not going to landfill.

How did it begin?

Launched by BBC television's "Blue Peter" programme and UNICEF in 2007, the ShoeBiz appeal encouraged UK viewers to donate old shoes for reuse to raise money for orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi. The campaign was a huge success; 1.5 million pairs of shoes were donated, enabling the partnership to support 43,000 children in 'Children's corners' which care for some of Malawi's most vulnerable children, many of whom are orphans, providing them with a meal and a safe place to play and learn.

Four years on ShoeBiz is going from strength to strength. The partnership is now helping some of the most vulnerable children around the world to access education. thanks to the support of Clarks customers donating their shoes, UNICEF is able to support children like those living in the remote Mae Hong Son region in Thailand. Thousands of children living in remote villages in rural Thailand miss out on an education because schools are too far from their homes, but a UNICEF supported project is helping to ensure that more of these children can learn by opening schools within their communities.

Despite the fact that around the world more children go to school than ever before, more than 100 million children, most of them girls, are still not in education. Educating girls is one of the best ways of reducing poverty - children are 40 per cent more likely to live beyond their fifth birthday if their mothers have had five years of schooling. Education helps families survive, and by donating old or unwanted shoes at your nearest participating store, you can help ShoeBiz reach even more of the world's most vulnerable children.

It couldn't be easier - there are collection points in more than 500 Clarks stores nationwide. Call your local store now to find out if they are participating in ShoeBiz.

To read more about UNICEF's work on education click here.

To read more about the UNICEF and Clarks partnership click here

To donate to UNICEF click here.