It’s time to step up for your community by donating a pair of shoes in Heidelberg Mall’s shoe drive.

Heidelberg Mall launched its community initiative “Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes” earlier this year as a meaningful drive to collect shoes - any size, any colour, any style. The mall handed over the first batch of 224 pairs of donated shoes to a local non-profit community organisation, Indawo Yosizo (meaning Centre for Help in isiZulu), in July. Since then a further 300 pairs of shoes have been collected and an additional hand-over is set to take place soon.

Before the centre opened, the owners of Heidelberg Mall asked the local community how the mall’s social initiatives could best help them. Their answer was clear: “shoes will help the disadvantaged people in our community go a long way”.

Michelle Amorim, General Manager of Heidelberg Mall, explains the role that shoes play in enriching a community may be far greater than you first imagine.

“The significance goes beyond the protection and comfort that shoes give us. By donating your shoes, you can help someone get a foot in the door by making the right impression at a job interview. You can help aspiring young athletes put their best foot forward on the sports field.”

For many disadvantaged youngsters, a pair of shoes can be a step towards a brighter future. Without school shoes, especially in winter, school attendance is reduced. Learners suffer from the cold and discomfort of bare feet, they also feel marked by their poverty.

Amorim says: “Heidelberg Mall is delighted to have launched this initiative. We have received such a warm welcome from our community and the ‘Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes’ campaign is one way we can make a positive contribution as a member of this community. This is a wonderful opportunity to show that we care and to help our community walk the road to a better future.”

To be part of this community-changing initiative, all you have to do is drop off a pair of shoes – or two, or more – at the Heidelberg Mall Centre Management Offices or in a special shoe collection box located in the mall. The shoes will be distributed to the Heidelberg local community.