does anyone have any idea we can incorporate shoes to raise money for the homeless?

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I dont have much heat but I could donate a pair of space jams etc to auction off or raise money for the homeless...  Working in dc has made me realize the ongoing issue with homelessness and instead of giving someone a dollar or two i think as a community we could raise money to purchase blankets, food, and the esential in bulk?/?  

my proposal is to people donate a shoe that has potential to receive more than they are really worth example the yeezys and publicize the issue with radios like 99.5 or 95.5 and auction them off....i am pretty sure we can use it as a tax write off for those who are concerned about losing a shoe...... 
 
^^^
Good stuff man.

Don't mean to thread Jack but, if its for a good cause... why not?

I was actually going to make a post asking all ya'll bammas to donate a pair of "beaters" not too beat.
I work for a non-profit organization, called Neighbors' Consejo. We run a residential and transitional program that targets homeless people w/ addiction, and try to help them become self-sufficient. When they eneter our program they have nothing, we usually do good w/ donations, but I guess the economy has affected just about everyone.

check out the site....

www.neighborsconsejo.org

and back to your Idea, don't have much heat, but wouldn't mind donating a pair to raise money.
 
Not to jump the gun on an announcement, but we've had a sneaker related fund-raiser in the works for awhile now and I expect to go live with it within the next week.

I'm very curious as to the level of response we receive from it. It's a standalone fund-raiser, but I'm looking at it as a pilot project of sorts as well. With any luck, it'll not only be a reproducible event but proof of concept for auctions of the sort you're referring to.

If all goes well, hopefully NikeTalk can serve as a launchpad for charitable sneaker auctions and shoe drives. 
 
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I'm down.

Just need shipping address.

Wife and I got mad stuff we'd rather just give away (as long as its going to where/who its supposed to go to), due to lack of space in closets.

Shoe boxes behind couches ain't gangsta...
grin.gif
 
thats dope son!!

count me in to support any community initiative!

i think that makes sense considering the logistics behind the shoe matching is extremely difficult at times.

im withca bruh!
 
i def. dont mind donating but i would like to concentrate more on the DMV area nonetheless hopefully in the next few weeks i can come up with a solid proposal
 
This is a great idea OP i always had something like this in mind, but I want to go a step further.

I'll def support this, but hear my idea out.

I not only want to help them in means of food, clothing and shelter. I want to help the homeless in DC better their lives for the rest of their lives.
In the Future I want to open a shelter where we will not just give them stuff, but we also help them get a job, medical care, etc... It may be a lot to do, but
that is why I am working on something bigger in the mean time so I will have the funds to support this idea.
Giving them food, clothes, etc. is not solving the problem. We need the problem solved! Sure some people rather live homeless, but there are those unfortunate
that are homeless and do not want to be.

Keep us updated Meth & Rightgard.
 
Originally Posted by DJMano34

This is a great idea OP i always had something like this in mind, but I want to go a step further.



I'll def support this, but hear my idea out.



I not only want to help them in means of food, clothing and shelter. I want to help the homeless in DC better their lives for the rest of their lives.

In the Future I want to open a shelter where we will not just give them stuff, but we also help them get a job, medical care, etc... It may be a lot to do, but

that is why I am working on something bigger in the mean time so I will have the funds to support this idea.

Giving them food, clothes, etc. is not solving the problem. We need the problem solved! Sure some people rather live homeless, but there are those unfortunate

that are homeless and do not want to be.



Keep us updated Meth & Rightgard.




This is exactly what the org. I work for does.
 
The primary challenge I think we face is messaging.  That's something that, at the moment, our format does quite poorly.  Upon arriving at the front page, visitors skew off in a thousand different directions.  For NikeTalk to maximize its effectiveness for something like this, we need to really improve the reach of our Twitter feed (@niketalk1999), an official Facebook fan page, etc. to direct people to the item listings, donation information post, or what have you.  It's a challenge, but certainly nothing beyond what we're capable of accomplishing together.   NikeTalk is a useful tool for something like this as is, but we can also treat it as an opportunity to engage in capacity building and expand our reach for future projects.
Wife and I got mad stuff we'd rather just give away (as long as its going to where/who its supposed to go to), due to lack of space in closets.Shoe boxes behind couches ain't gangsta...
I'm sure a lot of us have stuff we'd be much happier giving up - especially if we knew that, in the process, we'd be helping to make someone's life better in a meaningful way.  I still have friends who, for whatever reason, didn't get the memo regarding the end of my collecting.  I have 4 pairs of Jordans that I received as gifts that I'll never wear and would hate to sell for selfish gain - because they're gifts.  A donation is a perfect application.  Someone could easily ask, "why don't you just sell them on eBay as is and donate the cash to whatever charity you want?"  There's nothing wrong with that at all, but I honestly think we can do better together than separately.

A pair of nubuck or "sick game" XIIs wouldn't be a big ticket item on eBay under normal circumstances, but if we put together a nice NikeTalk All Star Charity Auction and package it well as an event, we can potentially draw a premium for those items we choose to receive. 

Creating an annual (or semi-annual) charity auction allows us to build anticipation and get the word out collectively in a way that would attract far more eyeballs than any individual listing.  If I list a pair of XIIs on eBay tonight, they'll just get lost in the shuffle.  If I sell them as part of an event, it's individuated and we've created an imperative to purchase that particular pair.  It's conducive to impulse buys, as well, since browsing through the item list is something like visiting a yard sale, used bookstore, etc.  You may come across something you never gave much prior consideration to, yet the discovery of it and the prospect of it slipping away creates an incentive to snap it up while you have the chance.  Then, of course, you've attached to your item the value of donating to a worthy cause.  If you could spend an extra $10-15 on a pair of shoes, as a consumer, knowing that your purchase will result in $125+ going to charity, I think most of us would do that.  It beats the heck out of Project Red and other specious "caused based marketing" hustles.  It's actually sincere.

The question is, how do you add further value to that as an online event?  It's possible to do something like this at a physical location, but then you're restricting the potential participant pool and raising overhead. 

It gets the creative juices flowing for sure.  I already have a number of ideas floating around... it could be very interesting.

i think that makes sense considering the logistics behind the shoe matching is extremely difficult at times.
Yeah, that's the thing.  In thinking about taking the shoe drive concept national, you wonder, with a group like ours, if it really make sense to sit there and track down someone who takes a size 10 and issue them a pair of Jordan Six Rings when we could, instead, receive that same pair as a donation, sell it, then use the proceeds to supply an organization that serves those in need with the financial needs necessary to procure whatever they require directly.  It just makes more sense.

There are two useful commodities that our fellow members likely have in abundance:  new shoes they no longer value or shoes they've only worn a handful of times and can't see themselves wearing anymore.  I think the latter can be donated directly, but it's inefficient to donate the former.  Even though we all appreciate the thought and sacrifice of setting someone in need up with a pair of DS Jordans, it's tough to justify when that same pair could not only provide comfort to that one person, but to three or four others. 


We've got something coming up this month that will test the waters a bit.  There will be some unique items available and it'll be for a great cause.  Hopefully people will respond.

During the fall, as Thanksgiving approaches, there's always a heightened interest in helping those less fortunate.  So, I think the prudent course of action would be to really build up the strongest possible fund-raising event between now and, say, October.  Trust me, the time goes FAST.   If folks want to do their own thing, that's cool, but anyone who wants to help us do something significant with NikeTalk in this area is more than welcome to work with us.  I'm not just interested in rounding up shoes; I'm genuinely interested in collaborating with folks to get something going. 
 
Originally Posted by eyes of hazel

^
I'm down.

Just need shipping address.

Wife and I got mad stuff we'd rather just give away (as long as its going to where/who its supposed to go to), due to lack of space in closets.

Shoe boxes behind couches ain't gangsta...
grin.gif

Quoted and noted....

As I've discussed with Meth.. While in the Beav.. it sickened me to see MASSES of shoes shredded just becuz ..... there are excuses for some... like no rights or lefts... BUT SOMEONE's got the other one.... thats why Esaie and my other boy Marcus, helped me to donate HUNDREDS of kicks to my Church and an at Risk Youth Program, and one homeless shelter I have worked with.... I swear.. before the strictly (not quite there) Virtual Sample went into affect on Campus.. shoes were bein shredded like a mug.  Granted alot were given to local shelters and boys and girls club.. altho.. I never found out which since I got to know several in the Beav and PDX..

I hope this goes well.
  
 
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