Thursday, February 23, 2012

While our company and much of the American economy has recovered from the depths of the Great Recession of 2008-09, millions of people around the world still struggle without the basic necessities of life.  For the past few years, we've been pleased to partner with Soles4Souls®, an international charitable organization that collects footwear to distribute to the estimated 300 million children and 1.5 million adults across the world who are without a single pair of shoes.  To date, Allen Edmonds and its customers have donated over 16,000 pairs of shoes to the crucial Soles4Souls mission.  We are also proud to say that we have sent Allen Edmonds representatives to both Haiti and Africa to help distribute shoes to victims of natural disasters, war and extreme poverty who have no protection for their feet.

But 16,000 pairs is just a beginning for us, and we're eager to do more together.  From February 21st through March 4th, our customers and friends can donate ANY brand of “gently worn” men’s, women’s or children’s shoes at any Allen Edmonds store, as well as any of our participating AE dealers (for a list of participating dealers and our own stores, click here).  As a thank you, you’ll receive a $35 discount off your same day shoe purchase of Allen Edmonds business or casual shoes.  There is no purchase necessary, so it's a worthy reason to start your spring cleaning a bit early this year and clean your closet of some unneeded shoes.  If you would like to make your donation online, we are adopting a pay-it-forward "Honor Code” concept this year.  Simply enter the word “honor” in a promotion code box at checkout to recieve the $35 thank you discount.  When shipped, your order will contain a pre-paid shipping label and instructional card for you to send back gently worn shoes directly to the Soles4Souls distribution facility.

Thanks very much for your support of Allen Edmonds, and of our efforts with Soles4Souls® to help those in need.
Warm regards,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation