December 15, 2025
‘Your Soles — Their Souls’ shoe drive meets the 1 billion people who do not own a single pair
The Tide is prayerful for another record-breaking year by donating new and gently worn shoes to fund Literacy classes in India
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — It only takes a quick internet search to find some truly staggering statistics about shoe consumption and need around the world. The contrast between abundance and absence is stark, revealing a global disparity that is easy to overlook.
Here are the numbers that might make one pause:
- 2.4 billion: The number of pairs of shoes imported into the United States every year
- 7 pairs: The average number of shoes per American citizen
- 1 billion people (including 300 million children): The number of people who do not own a single pair of shoes
“This vast gap highlights a significant need for basic footwear, which is far more than a fashion item; it’s a critical tool for health, mobility and opportunity,” said Don Shenk, Director of The Tide® (www.thetide.org) ministry. “Lack of proper footwear can prevent children from attending school and adults from working, perpetuating cycles of poverty within families and communities.”
Bridging the gap with new and gently worn shoes
Bridging the gap is as easy as donating new and gently worn shoes to The Tide ministry for the fifth annual “Your Soles — Their Souls” shoe drive, which kicks off on Jan. 2 and goes through March 31 each year.
The Tide uses these shoes to help people around the world in two different, very tangible ways, turning extra pairs of shoes into life-changing opportunities for others:
- Economic empowerment: The shoes collected are picked up by another organization, and based on their weight, funds are provided to The Tide. These shoes are then sent to developing countries around the world to help microentrepreneurs set up small shoe businesses, providing sustainable income and improving lives.
- Literacy and education: The Tide uses the funds to help offset the cost of Gospel Outreach Literacy Classes for villagers in India who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn how to read and write in their own language, also helping to improve and change lives.
In 2025, The Tide collection totaled 7,550 pairs of shoes, raising over $4,000! More than 50 collection sites participated, including both community and internal collection sites at churches, businesses, schools, groups and sports teams, plus many individual donations dropped at The Tide office.
This year, The Tide has set a bold goal to collect 10,000 pairs, which can be achieved in three simple ways:
- Gathering: Set up a collection site or become a community drop-off location
- Promoting: Tell others about the shoe drive by sharing social media posts and other communications
- Donating: Clean out closets and take shoes to The Tide office or one of the many other collection sites throughout the community.
“We invite everyone to get involved in this win-win effort,” said Shenk. “Turn your extra pairs of shoes into the opportunity of a lifetime for others.”
To learn more about The Tide’s 2026 “Your Soles — The Souls” shoe drive, click here.
From its humble origins in 1946 as a local Gospel radio broadcast in Chambersburg, PA, The Tide® ministry has grown into a global network of Christian media broadcasting partnerships committed to worldwide evangelism and discipleship. In 2008, The Tide® ministry ended all English-language programming in order to focus on developing and distributing indigenous heart-language content in areas around the world that are less touched by the Gospel. Today, The Tide® ministry works with partners in multiple countries across three continents to broadcast Gospel-centered messages via radio, satellite TV and other media. In order to make disciples and plant churches, The Tide® ministry also provides resources for literature distribution, correspondence courses, discipleship and leadership training activities, and the distribution of radios and media players.
For more information about The Tide® ministry broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, special year-long campaigns, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its website at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page.
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To schedule interviews with Don Shenk, director of The Tide® global radio ministry, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
To inquire about airing any of The Tide® ministry radio broadcasts, contact Michael Hamilton, 610.584.1096, ext. 101.
