Sizing Up Soles

Charity that puts shoes on feet around the world gets more space in Alsip

by Michael Drakulich

It almost sounds like a setup for an off-color joke: "Where else can you get a Jew, a Muslim and Christian gathered in one space, working side by side?"

But Mona Purdy's only half joking when she talks about the common cause that brings volunteers together at her Southland charity. It's the shoes.

Now, Purdy's charity, Share Your Soles, will have more space where her volunteers can work. The charity Purdy founded II years ago moved this week to its new headquarters in Alsip. The new space will give Purdy and her crew access to as much as 500,000 square feet, up from about 400,000 at her previous location less than half a mile away.

The amount of space may seem like overkill. But given the scope of Purdy's operation, she may need every inch. Share Your Sales collects new and used shoes from all over the country, cleans them, then distributes them to some of the poorest areas around the globe.

Poverty and the lack of adequate footwear know no particular culture, no particular ethnicity, she said. That is why Purdy has people from such diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions coming to her, offering their help.

"We have people volunteering from churches, synagogues and even Buddhist temples," she said. "We have refugees from Africa who will gather shoes and help send them to the very villages they came from." In 11 years, Purdy estimates, she has shipped 1.2 million pairs of shoes to places throughout the United States and the rest of the world.

What got her started on her mission was a 1999 trip to Central America, where she saw children painting tar to the bottoms of their feet so they could run a race in a village festival.

While there, she ran into an American orthopedic surgeon who told her if children had adequate footwear, he wouldn't have to perform so many foot amputations due to untreated gangrene infections.

Her response to what she saw in Central America at the time was the embodiment of one of her favorite quotes.

"Ghandi said, 'You must be the change you want to see,' " she said. "If you see something and it upsets you and you can do something about it, then you feel good."

Shoes can't be collected and distributed without the necessary space. Or sponsors. And while she's received a generous amount of aid thus far, Purdy and her staff are shooting for much more.

Purdy doesn't just want to get more shoes to more people, she's expanding her operations. During a trip to Nigeria, she noticed people in the villages where she distributed shoes suffered from a host of ailments and injuries, some a direct result of not having proper protective footwear.

So Purdy has begun collecting walkers, wheelchairs, canes and crutches so they can move about a bit easier. She said her organization has proved that something profound can be done for the good of others without being driven by money. But now she's looking to raise more funds so she can continue to do things on a grander scale.

She has a few projects in the works. For one, Share Your Soles will be accepting donations at five running races this year, including the Chicago Marathon, she said. The charity recently formed a partnership with the Chicago Hotel Concierge Association, which will collect shoes for Share Your Soles at 75 Chicago-area hotels for the next 12 months. And Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's Sister Cities program is sponsoring a fundraiser for Purdy's charity on Feb. 19 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The success of Purdy's charity isn't difficult to understand. She has a magnetic personality, is persuasive and seems to have boundless energy. She's not shy about embracing people she may not even know when they donate.

Purdy seems genuinely moved by people's generosity, as Lee Tolksdorf, of Oak Lawn, found out Tuesday. Tolksdorf stopped by the new location to drop off some shoes and chat with Purdy. He couldn't leave without her giving him a big hug.

Purdy doesn't do it all alone. Tim Wallace, the organization's events coordinator, refers to himself as a "Swiss Army knife" because of all the different things he's called upon to do at a given moment.

The 23-year-old has been with Purdy for three years and said it's given him valuable business experience. It helps to work for Purdy, who shows just as much compassion and kindness to her staff as she does for the recipients of her shoes, he said.

It can be hectic work, and perhaps none of the staff knows what a 9-to-5 schedule is really like. But Wallace said in addition to helping others, there's an ultimate benefit in helping cultivate a new generation of those who may carry on the legacy.

IF YOU GO...Chicago Sister Cities will host the Share Your Soles 11th Anniversary Gala from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Feb. 19. The event will be held in the Yates Gallery at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St. To buy tickets, call (708) 448-4469.