January 5, 2026
The Tide® ministry kicks off fifth annual ‘Your Soles — Their Souls’ shoe drive
This year, The Tide is meeting the 1 billion people who do not own a single pair
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Around the world, it is estimated that 1 billion people (including 300 million children) do not own a single pair of shoes. In the United States, where the average American citizen owns 7 pairs, the contrast between abundance and absence is stark, revealing a global disparity that is easy to overlook.
The Tide® (www.thetide.org), a global Gospel broadcast ministry located on three continents and in over 35 languages, is bridging the gap with new and gently worn shoes through the fifth annual “Your Soles — Their Souls” shoe drive. Sponsored by Cubes Storage Solutions of Chambersburg, this year’s shoe drive began this week and ends on March 31
“This gap underscores a widespread need for basic footwear — an essential for health, mobility and opportunity,” said Don Shenk, Director of The Tide® (www.thetide.org) ministry. “Without proper footwear, children can be barred from their education and adults from employment, continuing cycles of poverty across households and neighborhoods.”
When shoes are collected, The Tide turns them 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, churches, businesses and individuals participated to help bring in 7,550 pairs of shoes, raising over $4,000,” said Shenk. “This shoe drive can be an easy way to declutter your closet while furthering the Great Commission.”
This year, The Tide has set a bold goal to collect 10,000 pairs, which can be achieved by setting up collection sites and community drop-off locations, sharing the word about the shoe drive, cleaning out closets, and taking shoes to The Tide office or one of the many other collection sites.
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.
