SIDNEY — The Sidney-Shelby County YMCA is partnering with the MORE Foundation to collect athletic shoes. MORE stands for Modular Organic Regenerative Environments, and focuses on shoe recycling. The goal of the foundation is to recycle new and used athletic shoes in order to supply those around the world that cannot afford them and improve quality of life.
Those interested in donating their athletic shoes to MORE can do so at the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA, one of more than 2,000 donation locations in the United States.
“We have three locations in the YMCA, the main lobby, Wellness Center, and Child Development Department,” Sidney-Shelby County YMCA Membership Coordinator Jane Lehmkuhle said.
The shoes collected by the YMCA for MORE are then sold to participating vendors in Africa, creating jobs and supplying those in need with athletic shoes. Lehmkuhle said the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA sent over 10 boxes of shoes last year.
“Whenever we get a full box we send it to the MORE foundation right away,” Lehmkuhle said.
The money used from this sale is used to regenerate forests and farmlands in West Africa and Central America. The foundation also provides equipment, tools, and restoration training to the poor villages in the area.
“In each village that we sponsor, our staff erects a tree nursery, digs a new water well and installs an irrigation water pump capable of watering 25,000 trees,” said Aimee Lackford, MORE collection coordinator.
Once the groundwork is laid, the seeds are planted, and the payoff for the local villages begins.
“We supply 30,000 starter grow bags for trees that will eventually provide fruits, nuts, honey, marketable hardwoods and firewood. We also provide each village a full time nursery manager for 8 months to insure that at least 25,000 saplings reach maturity,” she said.
The foundation itself is fully funded by recycling, all of which starts at the local level in places like the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA.
“We receive between ten thousand and fifteen thousand pair of used athletic shoes each month depending on the time of the year,” Lackford said. “We have been collecting used athletic shoes for 12 years and continue to increase collections each year.”
Once the donation boxes are filled, the shoes are shipped at no cost, and the process begins from there.
“We send a Certificate of Carbon Offset for every three boxes filled with shoes we receive. Many hundreds of Carbon certificates are secured to the walls of YMCAs across the U.S., including Sidney-Shelby County YMCA,” Lackford said. “One pair of shoes sequesters well over one ton of carbon from the atmosphere within 10 years.”
Lackford said that over 50 million athletic shoes are sold in the United States each year, but less than 15 percent are re-used or recycled.
“We would like to reach one percent within a few years,” Lackford said. “Every pair of used athletic shoes generates at least one million tree seeds.
“Our goal is to assist villages and families to become economically stable, increase employment and regenerate forests,” Lackford said. “In the end, shoe recycling and re-purposing is an easy way for each of us to do a small part to reduce our carbon footprint, help people in need and regenerate the environment.”
