Stepping Into Opportunity: Tersus Solutions Volunteers with Soles4Souls

At Tersus Solutions, our partnership with Soles4Souls goes beyond donation.

As a partner working closely with their 4Opportunity program, we’re proud to help give shoes life while creating opportunity for communities around the world.

Soles4Souls works at the intersection of social impact and sustainability, turning new and gently used shoes and clothing into opportunities for people, communities, and the planet. Since 2006, the organization and its partners have helped create thousands of jobs across 53 countries and five continents through 4Opportunity. This program provides donated shoes and clothing to entrepreneurs in low-income communities, helping them build sustainable businesses and create income for their families.

Recently, we had the chance to bring our partnership with Soles4Souls a little closer to home.

Tersus volunteers joined Soles4Souls during their 4EveryKid event at a Denver elementary school, where every 4th and 5th grade student received a brand-new pair of shoes. Through 4EveryKid, brand-new shoes are provided to children experiencing financial hardships, helping them attend school with confidence, participate in activities, and feel included alongside their peers.

Assisted by volunteers every step of the way, students moved through the experience one by one. First, their feet were sized. Then they met their personal “fitter” who listened to each student's preferences allowing them to then pull shoes for them to try on (often pair after pair) until they found the one.

It was a little Cinderella moment, but instead of a glass slipper, a fresh pair of kicks for the 200 students who went through the process.

The smiles said it all; every student left with a pair of shoes they loved and a little extra confidence and spring in their step. Let’s be real, who doesn’t love a new pair of shoes?

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And that’s what makes the work of Soles4Souls so meaningful to us. Their mission shows that a pair of shoes can be more than something you wear. They can be a source of opportunity, confidence, dignity, and a step toward something better. By keeping usable footwear in circulation, Soles4Souls is helping reduce waste, reporting that more than 116 million pounds of textiles have been diverted from landfills through their work.