One pair of donated shoes serves two!

One pair of shoes provides affordable footwear and clean, fresh water.

Shoeman Water Projects is a ministry of Eagle Wing Ministries, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charity, working to alleviate as much human suffering as possible and, in the process, maximize fun with a splashing good time. Shoeman Water Projects picks up donated used and new shoes year round from businesses, churches, schools, special events and shoe drives. Once collected,the shoes are given a second life when the Shoeman exports the donated shoes to retailers in the developing world. The resale of shoes provides jobs and affordable footwear. Affordable shoes are a life saving tool as they protect the new owner’s feet and overall health from foot abrasions, parasites and mites. Funds generated from the export of shoes provides well drilling rigs, water purification systems, and hand pump repair micro businesses bringing clean, fresh water to those who thirst.

Since 1998, Shoeman Water Projects founder George, the Shoeman, Hutchings has visited Kenya repeatedly, shipping a sizable quantity of supplies including 21,000 meals for orphans, $2 million in medical supplies, dental labs, neurosurgeons for pediatric facial reconstructions.

Happily buried in a pile of shoes, George is surrounded by a great team. From left to right: Tim Borrson, Director of Operations; Becky Nieters, Shoe Drive Coordinator; Rich Kim, Director of Donor Relations; Julie Scaglione, Director of Community Relations; and Karl Johnson, Shoe Dude of Denver.

In August of 2008 George began Shoeman Water Projects to specifically focus on clean drinking water. In his decade prior travel to Kenya he had discerned that without clean water, all other aid would be a momentary stop-gap. From August of 2008 through June of 2011 Shoeman Water Projects has collected over 1.5 million pairs of shoes that have become affordable shoes for those in need of projection from abrasions and deadly parasites as well as clean drinking water. The Sole Power of donated shoes collected by George and his team at Shoeman Water Projects has, thus far, resulted in the purchase of 4 water-well drilling rigs, more than 250 wells drilled serving more than 200,000 people, as well as water purification system installations and well pump repairs serving clinics, schools and villages across the globe.

Learn more about George and his thirst for clean water in his book Combat Survival-Life Stories from a Purple Heart.

Learn more about Shoeman Water Projects by exploring the site and reading our FAQs. Use the easy online form to request a shoe drive or cell phone drive kit and get started today!