February is American Heart Month and to celebrate, the staff at AU Health’s Cardiovascular ICU is doing a fundraiser. It’s a little bit different than a typical donation model or raffle.
They don’t want your money. They want your shoes.
Through March 24 – the day before the American Heart Association’s CSRA Heart Walk – clean out your closet and bring your gently worn used and new shoes to the CVICU on 6 West.
At the end of the shoe drive, the shoes will be sold to Funds 2 Orgs, which will weigh the shoes and give the staff a check for an amount based on poundage. The check will then be donated to the American Heart Association.
The shoes are used to create jobs in developing countries.
“People can sell those shoes and they can get profit for them, like a small business in their country,” said Margareth Ergle, RN, the fundraiser’s organizer at AU Health.
She said it’s a win-win-win: donors have somewhere to take shoes they no longer need, the CVICU gets funds to donate to the American Heart Association, and small business owners in developing countries inventory that will help them provide for their families.
Shoes can be any size but must be in gently worn condition. The small business owners will clean the shoes to prepare them for resale.
Anyone is welcome to donate.
“The more the merrier,” Ergle said.
For more information, email Ergle or call 706-721-9468.
