Media Release: Launching 'Let the Sneakers Walk Again' Charitable Campaign in Toronto

Logo: 'Let the Sneakers Walk Again' Charitable Campaign
Credit: dundasmarketing.ca

MEDIA INFORMATION - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We Need Your Sneakers!
And Another 100,000 Canadians to Donate their Sneakers -
From the Bottom of Their Soles

Toronto, ON, August 19, 2009 - The situation in Haiti has recently gone from bad to worse and this international crisis requires our immediate attention and action. Inflation and socio-economic ills have propelled this impoverished nation into absolute poverty, and starvation, that has now reached epidemic proportions.

It isn't an exaggeration to say that in every Canadian household, there is at least one pair of sneakers in good condition that haven't been used in years.

Today, even trying to forage for food in piles of garbage is done barefoot, leading to widespread foot diseases that can result in amputation or even death.

In September 2009, we are launching Let the Sneakers Walk Again: A one-month charitable campaign in downtown Toronto.

We are counting on generous Torontonians, political dignitaries, corporate sponsors and their employees to donate a pair of sneakers so we can make great strides in providing desperately needed footwear to those that need it the most, in Haiti.

Fortunately, there are many committed citizens already working towards alleviating the suffering of destitute Haitian communities. In the small town of Val Thérèse, a 45-minute drive North of Sudbury, a small group of volunteers came together in 1991 from a grassroots level, and started Cercle Missionnaire de la Vallée. Headed by President Georgette Bergeron, over the past 18 years the group has organized shipments of goods to Port-au-Prince in excess of 50 tons, every single year. In Haiti at age 84, Soeur Thérèse l'Amoureux (m.c.r.), a Canadian nun from Montréal, receives the shipment of donations and is responsible for distribution to ensure thousands of Haitians obtain the basic necessities for survival.

By directing all contributions from Let The Sneakers Walk Again (LTSWA) campaign to their charity, we are determined to help Cercle Missionnaire de la Vallée expand their efforts in touching even more lives.

We invite the Toronto Police, Toronto Fire Department, City Council and all citizens of the city of Toronto - and our GTA neighbours - to donate their new or gently-used sneakers. Employees of corporations and mainstream media including Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, as well as local ethnic media, will all be encouraged to participate by donating their sneakers too.

We Want You and all Torontonians to Donate Sneakers -
From the Bottom of Your Sole!

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For more information please contact LTSWA:
Julie Dimenna, Executive Director or
Voja Jurisic, President
416-849-6766

c/o Dundas Marketing & Printing
2932 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON M6P !Y8
416-875-5916
E-mail: vj@dundasmarketing.ca
Web-site: http://sneakerswalkagain.com/

Media Release: Let the Sneakers Walk Again: A one-month charitable campaign in downtown Toronto
Credit: dundasmarketing.ca

links:
landmarkeducationnews.info: Serving up Strikes: Waitresses Bowl to Help Save Toronto Foodbank
By George F on May 9, 2008
lasalleuniform.ca: CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE de la VALLEE
valleyeasttoday.ca: CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE de la VALLEE
reuters.com: Canada Launches Major Vocational Training Initiative for Haiti
Mar 27, 2009