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Jazmin Hamilton, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096,

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Grassroots Ministry Calls for Americans to Help Their Neighbors in Louisiana

Shoes 2 Share’s “Walk 2 the Gulf”: 50 States in 50 Days, 2 Miles Each to Bring Relief

Wilmington, Del. – One out of seven Americans today live in poverty. The state of Louisiana has the second highest poverty rate in the nation, with 26% of its children suffering from a lack of resources.  Louisiana’s children have both the highest risk of homelessness and the greatest number of juvenile incarcerations in the country. In addition to these shocking statistics, Louisiana has suffered the devastating effects of hurricane Katrina, followed by the economy-crushing oil spill in the Gulf last summer. The people of this state, as just one of many states in our country suffering from this recession and economic decline, need help from their fellow Americans.

Since the 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled near Dulac, Louisiana last summer, causing a near collapse of the once-thriving fishing industry, thousands have been left unemployed. 27,000 people in the Terrebonne Parish alone have been left jobless from this catastrophe. Shoes 2 Share International, a grassroots charitable ministry, has taken the initiative to organize a “Walk 2 the Gulf” project to begin on November 1st.  While people in the United States, and S2S, are generous in their support to and donations for other countries, founders Tim and Rhonda Wampler believe in the importance of neighbors serving their own neighbors in times of need such as Louisiana has seen these past several years.  Shoes 2 Share has chosen the small town of Dulac to receive the relief from the project, with hope to relieve some of the destitution in the town, and to incite other Americans to see and attend to the needs of those in their own country.

The “Walk 2 the Gulf” will be a cumulative effort between 50 states over the course of 50 days as participating churches, schools, businesses and communities host their own sponsored two-mile walks to raise much needed donations for the citizens of Dulac. Any organization interested can sign up with Shoes 2 Share to host their own walk by enlisting walkers to raise donations in the form of money, new toys, or shoes. The goal is to have participation from at least one organization in each state. During the course of these 50 days, the S2S team will caravan truckloads of supplies from its new headquarters in Delaware, down to Dulac, making stops at cities along the way to pick up needed supplies. The mission of Shoes 2 Share is to provide hope, comfort, and humanitarian aid, and this latest project is to assist the economically devastated fishing town of Dulac.

Shoes 2 Share International, whose relief efforts serve 18 countries around the world, including the United States, distinguishes this Gulf of Mexico relief effort as it emphasizes the importance of Americans-serving-Americans. Shoes 2 Share knows these efforts will continue for decades to come and its hope is to display the endurance needed to combat the consequences of this disaster by organizing participants to walk in their own communities in order to bring relief efforts to Dulac.

Shoes 2 Share kicked off the “Walk 2 the Gulf” on 9/11 with a ceremonial walk around Delaware’s Christiana Mall and a relief supply collection drive. The steps of United States patriots were honored that day as Shoes 2 Share walkers in Delaware and surrounding states embarked on the 2-mile kick-off walk.

Shoes 2 Share’s president, Tim Wampler says, “The Shoes 2 Share ‘Walk 2 the Gulf’ is about Americans helping and responding to the needs of other Americans.  This will be just the beginning of a nationwide effort to help the impoverished and afflicted in our own country. The walk will begin during a time of Thanksgiving and end during the week of Christmas−the week we received the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. We are grateful to the state of Delaware, our country’s first state, for helping Shoes 2 Share help others in our beloved United States of America.”

The “Walk 2 the Gulf” will officially begin on November 1 and end 50 days later on December 20.  It is Shoes 2 Share’s goal that all 50 states will be represented during the “Walk 2 the Gulf” through donations, participation and prayer.

Rhonda Wampler, founder of Shoes 2 Share, states, “We know that there will be relief efforts from others, but Shoes 2 Share’s efforts will go to the hurting men, women and children of Dulac, a city whose livelihood almost entirely depends on fishing. We will raise the morale and attend to the emotional and spiritual needs of Dulac citizens as well by sharing the message of the hope we have in Christ Jesus.”

All shoes, supplies and donations should be sent to:

Shoes 2 Share International

674 Pencader Drive

Newark, DE 19702

Shoes that are new or used and a couple of “shoe bucks” for shipping makes the donation complete.

Tim & Rhonda Wampler, Founders of Shoes 2 Share, have been providing for those in need around the world for many years. Their efforts to build  up a network and process that ensures that donated shoes and relief supplies get to countries safely, quickly and most importantly − directly to the people, have been highly successful.

In order to sign up your church, business, school, or other organization to participate in the Walk 2 the Gulf, please call Shoes 2 Share International at 302-292-1234, or e-mail info@Shoes2Share.org

For more information about Shoes 2 Share International, visit www.shoes2share.org or call 302-292-1234.

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Shoes 2 Share International is a ministry that collects donated shoes for poverty-stricken communities around the world. The organization founded by Tim and Rhonda Wampler has collected hundreds of thousands of pounds of footwear for communities worldwide. The Wamplers began the ministry after witnessing the extreme poverty of Haiti while adopting their children from the country in 2003.

Realizing that a lack of shoes can lead to disease and even death due to contaminated soil from sewage and a variety of other factors, Shoes 2 Share has worked with over 300 businesses including Chick-Fil-A, Astra Zeneca, Penn State University, the Kennedy Health System, Lockheed Martin, the City of Wilmington, Bank of America and many others, as well as schools, churches, service organizations and government entities to collect and send shoes, as well as food, infant supplies, medical items, toiletries, generators, tarps and tents to communities in the United States, and 17 other countries around the globe.

To schedule an interview with Tim or Rhonda Wampler of Shoes 2 Share, contact Deborah Hamilton at dhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com or call 215-815-7716 or Jazmin Hamilton at jhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com , 610-584-1096.

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