Thanking Our Customers for Our Philanthropy Milestone: Five Million Shoes Donated, Five Million Reasons to Smile!

Posted on 11/29/2021 10:44:41 PM

As we embark on our new holiday campaign going into the end of 2021, we want to take a moment and thank our customers, indeed our most important partners, on helping DSW achieve an amazing milestone of collecting - all via personal donations - five million pairs of shoes for our charity partner Soles4Souls (S4S)!

This is the largest single donation in S4S's 15-year history. S4S is a global nonprofit that turns shoe and clothing donations into micro-enterprise and micro-finance opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in challenging geographies, helping provide relief and sustainable jobs, and empowering people to disrupt the cycle of poverty.

What's really incredible is witnessing how our hundreds of retail stores have incentivized shoppers to support a major philanthropy campaign with meaningful impact. "Our partnership with DSW has been one of the most important in Soles4Souls history," says Buddy Teaster, CEO of Sole4Souls. "It's a perfect example of how companies can engage their customers, team members and the not-for-profit community to drive sustainable practices and create opportunity for those in need. Five million pairs of shoes is an incredible accomplishment and we look forward to many more years of working together."

We even recently involved some famous folks in the action, with fashion TV personality Brad Goreski and influencer Myka Meier donating shoes in Los Angeles as part of our campaign. These efforts will help support entrepreneurs around the world, and also make a positive impact on sustainability and eliminating environmental waste.

If you're interested in donating your own shoes and earning VIP shopping rewards in the process, just bring your items to any DSW store! Thanks again to our "team" for helping us fight global poverty. #DSWGives