Kellogg Community College’s Bruin Bookstore collected a record 277 pairs of shoes for donation or recycling via its annual Sneaker Collection campaign in April.
Bookstore Manager Catherine James said it’s the largest collection they’ve had since they started collecting shoe donations each spring in April 2014.
“Most of the shoes were from local runners,” including more than 100 pairs donated by members of the Kalamazoo Area Runners in Battle Creek, James said. “We did have quite a few of the community stop by and drop off shoes too.”
Most pairs were in good enough shape that they could be donated to the Charitable Union in Battle Creek to be reused, James said. Those that were too worn out for reuse were delivered to Playmakers in Okemos to be recycled.
“That saved a lot of shoes going into a landfill,” James said.
The many shoes – several boxes worth of donations (pictured above) and seven full garbage bags worth of recycling – were collected, sorted and delivered by Bruin Bookstore staff including James, Assistant Bruin Bookstore Manager Charles Bard, Bruin Bookstore Clerk Kari Barton and Shipping and Receiving Clerk Sue Stacy.
This is the seventh year the bookstore has held the Sneaker Collection event (there was no collection in April 2020 due to COVID), and the store has collected approximately 800 pairs of gently worn shoes for donation and unusable pairs for recycling since the initiative started.
For more information about the KCC Bruin Bookstore’s Sneaker Collection campaign or other KCC bookstore initiatives, contact the bookstore at 269-965-4128. General information about the Bruin Bookstore, including key textbook dates for students, is available online at http://bookstore.kellogg.edu.
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