Got more pairs of trainers than you know what to do with lying around at home? Why not give them to people who really need them? That’s the idea behind a new charity initiative, launched by Tori Leckie, to donate used trainers to local labourers in the UAE.
Tori, a long distance runner and Middle East adidas-sponsored athlete, first thought of the idea in June 2011, after an afternoon volunteering with the Seeds of Change group, who go about doing random acts of kindness in Dubai.
She then wrote about her plan on her health, fitness and wellness website www.fitchicksandfastwomen.com. This was followed by more involvement with another local charity SmartLife who run www.adoptalaborer.com.
Tori says about her first-of-its-kind charitable concept, “Everyone has old trainers sitting at home that do nothing but create clutter and gather dust. As a runner myself, I know I’m guilty of this and I know many of the local fitness community are same. Donating them to our hard working labourers seems like a great solution for all. I’m delighted to be working alongside the team at SmartLife to facilitate the collection and distribution and I hope that the initiative will continue on an ongoing basis beyond this first drive.”
You can donate trainers in all sizes but make sure that they are clean (wash them on a low temperature in the machine – just remove the laces first) and in a reasonable condition. It’s a shoe-in to do your bit to make the world a better place!
SmartLife will also be organising an annual cricket tournament called SmartCup with Fortune PromoSeven and other supporting organisations, where 24 teams (comprising both white and blue-collar workers) will battle it out on a cricket pitch on 17 February 2012. Once again, the idea is to enhance the lifestyle of the UAE’s labourers.
INFO: Donations of trainers can be made at Fortune Promoseven, Office 449, 4 floor, Emarat Atrium on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai between 9am and 6pm, Sunday to Thursday. For more information about collections, call Arun on 050 457 6873.
