Baystate Marathon Joins With Rerun Shoes To Raise Money For Greater Lowell Road Runners, Create Jobs For Disabled And Help Protect Environment

Holyoke, MA (PRWEB) September 30, 2014

The Baystate Marathon is being held on October 19 in Lowell, MA. This year Rerun Shoes helps The Greater Lowell Road Runners raise money for their club and supply footwear for those in need in Africa.
Rerun Shoes, the Holyoke, Mass based social enterprise ships over 100,000 pairs of shoes to Africa annually, employing adults with disabilities to sort and package gently used shoes, Rerun then ships these shoes to micro-entrepreneurs. Rerun programs are turn-key and cost free and are available to those in the footwear business and as recycling fundraisers for non-profits raising money just by collecting shoes.

Rerun Shoes recycles footwear for re-use in Africa. We collect gently worn but usable footwear, diverting shoes from the waste stream to a facility in Holyoke, Massachusetts where adults with disabilities sort and package shoes for export. Worn footwear is sold by weight into African markets, funding Rerun’s domestic operations. At destination used shoes become the primary material for small business development. Micro-entrepreneurs sell the shoes, generating income and providing affordable footwear in impoverished communities. Grounded in social action and fiscally self-sustaining, Rerun’s business model funds its mission.

Rerun Shoes is looking for relationships that generate a continuous flow of footwear to our recycling operation. The goal is development of one or more strategic partnerships in the categories below that permit Rerun to grow while maintaining its economic and social objectives. Sectors of interest include footwear retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers, and non-profits seeking to raise money for a cause.

The Rerun model accepts most categories of footwear. Collections are intended for reuse as shoes to be used in Africa and not for conversion into a different product. Shoes processed by Rerun end up on the feet of someone who needs them.

Rerun works with a wide variety of retail outlets from Running Specialty stores to vendors of comfort shoes and general family footwear providers. Rerun Shoes offers partners a turn-key cost free recycling program which enhances access to local community, generates multiple store visits, and establishes a green reputation. Rerun works with all types of individual and chain stores.

Non-profit entities that share Rerun Shoes’ social objectives and seek supplemental fundraising opportunities collaborate with Rerun. This may include athletic community organizations (e.g. non-profit races and walks) to race directors that utilize their position to raise money for social initiatives, and fundraising walks (e.g. the Relay for Life, or JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes). Also in this category are fitness clubs seeking a charitable or green marketing edge.

Rerun Shoes is committed to long term productive and mutually beneficial relationships to promote recycling, employment among disabled adults, and sustainable development in Africa.