The Step-Up Challenge encourages you to donate your gently used pairs of shoes
Across South Africa, countless individuals endure the harsh realities of poverty and homelessness. Struggling to afford even the necessities, these communities face significant challenges in obtaining footwear — a critical element in maintaining health, safety and dignity.
To address this pressing issue and improve lives by tackling this fundamental need, Ackermans has partnered with NPO Shoes4Souls to launch a campaign called the Step-Up Challenge, which encourages people to donate their gently used pairs of shoes.
This campaign forms part of the flagship Corporate Social Investment initiative, celebrating its tenth year, Ububele, meaning kindness and generosity. Ububele encompasses various programmes, including school initiatives, and has significantly impacted South African communities and the lives of countless individuals since its inception.
The Step-Up Challenge is no different and the partnership with Shoes4Souls reflects the values of kindness and generosity that define the Ububele initiative, and the brand itself.
“The gift of a good pair of shoes brings kindness, generosity and even hope. To someone who is vulnerable, it can be an empowering act against poverty, a step into protective comfort and even give a child the confidence to step into a classroom of opportunity. A step towards this progress starts with a good pair of shoes,” says Hanifa Jassiem, HR Manager: Talent & Culture at Ackermans. “As we mark the incredible milestone of Ububele’s 10-year anniversary, we want to create awareness about the different programmes within the initiative and encourage South Africans to step up and make a difference.”
The primary mission of Shoes4Souls is to put either a new or used pair of shoes on the feet of those who don’t have any. “Working with Ackerman’s Ububele initiative, we’re confident that we can help restore even more South Africans’ dignity and meet one of society’s most basic needs: a pair of shoes on young and old feet,” says Craig Smith, founder of Shoes4Souls.
How to donate
- Ackermans encourages South Africans to embrace the Ububele spirit of kindness and generosity by visiting the Ackermans website to find their nearest dedicated Shoes4Souls drop-off points and donating shoes directly to the NPO.
- Share the moment of yourself donating a pair of shoes to someone in need and post this to social media while tagging Ackermans and using #AckermansStepUpChallenge. Donors could win one of three R5 000 cash donations towards a charity of their choice.
Donation spots
Cape Town: Ackermans Blue Route Mall; Ackermans Somerset Mall; Ackermans Tygervalley Mall; Ackermans Table View Mall.
Johannesburg: Ackermans Fourways Crossing; Ackermans Ferndale on Republic; Ackermans Checkers Hyper Roodepoort; Ackermans Woodmead Retail Park; Ackermans Greenstone Mall Edenvale; Ackermans East Rand Mall.
For more locations nationally, visit the Ackermans website