Gala will help Share Your Soles

Fund-raiser is charity's best shot to ship shoes

by Kevin Olsen -staff reporter

Share Your Soles delivered its one millionth pair of shoes to needy people around the world last year. On Feb. 19, it will hold its only fund-raising event of the year, the 11th Anniversary Gala, to raise money to continue its mission of providing shoes to all those who do not have any.

The non-profit, started and operated by Palos Park resident Mona Purdy, will celebrate its 12th anniversary this April. On Christmas Eve, the charity moved into a new warehouse in Alsip, down the street from its original building. The building was donated, but Purdy has to pay the overhead. Monetary donations are also needed to process and ship the shoes around the world. Purdy accompanies each shipment to deliver the shoes at their final destination.

"Unfortunately people have the misconception that when we get shoes they just end up somewhere else," Purdy said of the necessity of monetary donations.

The 11th Anniversary Gala will be held Saturday, Feb. 19, from 6:30 to 11 p.m. at Yates Hall in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. It will have a Cinderella's ball theme, advertised as "Cinderella is proof ... Shoes do make a difference!" Tickets are $200 a seat or $1,450 for a table of eight. There will be cocktails and a buffet catered by Stefani Restaurants. WGN Radio's Bill Moller will emcee the event and ABC 7's Leah Hope will present awards throughout the night.

"It's done nothing but soared," Purdy said of her operation. People can order tickets online at shareyoursoles.org or by calling 708-448-4469. The gala's main sponsor is Chicago Sister Cities International. There will be music, a DJ, dancing, wining and dining, Purdy said. Ottimo, from Orland Park, will be supplying the wine.

There will be a number or live and silent auctions throughout the night including two round-trip tickets to London from American Airlines. Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz donated four tickets to a game and Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams donated a four-person meet-and-greet and ticket package valued at $500 per person.

A video presentation of Purdy and her team's trip to Haiti following the devastating earthquake will be shown during the gala. Secretary of State Jesse White, who has long partnered with Purdy, will honor the 37th Eagle Scout that has performed their final Eagle project volunteering at Share Your Soles. Purdy said she still has anywhere from 200 to 500 volunteers a week helping clean and sort shoes at her warehouse, 5623 W. 115th St. Anyone from scout troops, school field trips, and companies working on service projects, can be seen on any given day working with the shoes that continually pour in. Share Your Soles has distributed about 1.2 million shoes in its more than 11 years of existence. She emphasized that the non-profit needs as many soccer cleats as it can get after she has witnessed so many children kicking soccer balls with nothing other than bare feet.

"The community has become a village," Purdy said. "So many places donate."

Share Your Soles is also now collecting wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and canes after partnering with the Podiatrist Association. Due to the lack of nutrition, many people in the developing world need more than just shoes to transport, Purdy said. Share Your Soles IS also the official shoe charity for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Shamrock Shuffle and numerous other races. Purdy has plans to distribute shoes to Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Tanzania and Pakistan in 2011. A shipment of shoes was sent to Mexico last week.

Purdy is scheduled to discuss Share Your Sales before the Palos Park Woman's Club on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 10 a.m., at the Palos Park Presbyterian Church, 12312 S. 88t.h Ave.