The shoe drive is whenever you want to have it! People conduct shoe drives all year long. The average shoe drive lasts for one month.

Due to customs regulations and our desire for children to receive a new pair of shoes, we ONLY accept new shoes, socks and shoelaces. The greatest need is for leather or canvas athletic shoes.

We encourage those who are giving the shoes to place a family picture and a note to the child inside each pair of shoes they donated.

A financial contribution to the program is welcome. It will provide for the purchase and shipment of shoes to children we serve in the United States and around the world. Click here to donate.

Most of the shoes are delivered (via shipping containers) through Buckner staff working overseas. We also partner with more than 100 humanitarian relief organizations to deliver shoes to orphanages and children in need throughout the world. We have sent shoes to 74 countries, including the United States.

Since 1999, shoes have been delivered to:

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Argentina Armenia Bangladesh Belarus Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cambodia Chechnya Chile China Croatia Colombia Congo Costa Rica Cuba Djibouti Dominican Republic

Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia Georgia Germany Ghana Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras India Indonesia Iraq Israel Jamaica Kazakhstan Kenya Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lesotho Liberia Lithuania Mexico

Moldova Mongolia Mozambique Nicaragua Nigeria Panama Peru Philippines Romania Russia Rwanda Sierra Leone South Africa South Korea Sri Lanka Sudan Tajikistan Uganda Ukraine United States of America Venezuela Vietnam Zambia Zimbabwe

We do many drives involving the listening areas of radio stations and community-wide drives organized by a church or civic organization. If you are coordinating your drive with your local radio station or a community-wide drive, we will post all drop-off locations during the drive on our website.

The only permanent location for dropping off shoes is the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, located at 5405 Shoe Drive in Mesquite, Texas. Click here for directions.

Every year, volunteers travel to many countries where Buckner serves orphans to put the shoes on the feet of the children. Volunteers experience the “soul” of this project by ministering to the children in a personal way. We are always looking for individuals to deliver the shoes to the children. Click here to find out more information about our shoe delivery trips.

We have everything you need to make your drive successful. Once you’ve signed up to host a shoe drive, a packet of materials will be mailed to you.

Please contact us if you need more of any of the following items:
• Shoes for Orphan Souls DVD
• Brochures
• 11x17 Posters
• Sample press release (download here).