Earth Day - ShoeShareShaping the future

Thanks to our customers, over 200,000 pairs of shoes were donated to Clarks ShoeShare scheme last year raising a fantastic £125,000 for vulnerable children.22/04/20

We have worked with UNICEF since 2008 to deliver ShoeShare, a programme that encourages everyone to donate worn shoes they no longer need. By donating your shoes a donation is made to UNICEF that supports the education of vulnerable children.

One of the many projects our scheme has helped fund is the build of sustainable classrooms for children in Africa. Due to inadequate educational facilities, 1.6 million children in Côte d'Ivoire alone do not go to school. That number is gradually decreasing thanks to the work of UNICEF, and the partners who, like us, support them.

Ten-year-old Ange Emmanuel lives in Sanguine, in the West of Côte d’Ivoire. He is one of the many children who can now attend school thanks to the new sustainable classrooms made from recycled plastic bottles.

“Before, there was a lot of dust in the class, and the blackboard was so grey we could hardly read what was written on it,” he says. "When it rained, we all got wet. Animals came at night to sleep in our class. Now, with the new classrooms, everything is so clean. We have a nice big blackboard, and there’s even electricity and light! It feels very comfortable now, and I like coming to school.”

1,300 children like Ange Emanuel now have access to better learning spaces in an environmentally-friendly school. ShoeShare, therefore, has the dual benefit of supporting children across the world as well as diverting shoes away from landfill.

Do you have old shoes that you would like to donate to Clarks ShoeShare? Hold on to them until our stores reopen. Click here to find out how you can be a part of shaping the future of children around the world.
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