Billy was larger than life. And I don’t just mean his heart and spirit – I mean his feet too! Billy wore a size 13 shoe and has a lot of shoes which I’d love to give away to anyone who could use them, before I end up bringing them to Goodwill. So if you or anyone you know could use some shoes in this size please let me know. I’ve got a few sandals, tennis shoes, and lots of boots – some steel toe and several warm winter boots. See photo below. Thanks, guys.
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If you can, please donate them to a homeless shelter! I am a county social worker and spent a number of years working with persons who were experiencing homelessness. It was always the bigger guys that we struggled to get shoes and boots for.
While I do wear size 13 and would gladly take some off your hands, I agree, donating them would do more good than just adding to my closet. There are some really nice boots in there that will be welcome relief for a few this winter.
Maybe donate them to the homeless veterans?
http://www.mac-v.org/
Looks a lot like a subaru outback/forester. Do your headlights go out all the time like mine do?
Subaru Outback. Now that you mention it… the headlights do seem to need replacing more than my other cars did. She’s old though. 2009. What year is yours?
Lots of shelters seem to be focused on helping women. Can anyone recommend a shelter that assists men too? Preferably in the south suburbs (Eagan, Apple Valley, IGH, WSP, SSP) – I’m not a fan of driving into St. Paul or Minneapolis.
Stone Soup thrift in St Paul Park is a good option. Yes, it is a thrift store, but they give vouchers to individuals that are struggling financially. I used to take people there a lot when I was a caseworker. Valley Outreach in Stillwater has a clothing closet too, but that might be kind of far for you. Also, you could always do a google search for “clothing closets” close to the area you live. A lot of churches have clothing closets for folks that are in need.
Sharon, Joseph’s Coat on 7th street in St. Paul operates a “free store” to distribute clothing to those in need. I do volunteer work there.
There is a tremendous need for all kinds of clothing and Billy’s shoes/boots would be greatly appreciated.
According to the last “customer survey”, over 60% of the shoppers at Joseph’s Coat are neither homeless nor unemployed. Most have jobs, but fall into the category of “working poor” where housing/food/medical simply takes most of their pay so they have to get clothing from Joseph’s Coat. Before volunteering there, I thought that it would just be homeless types that needed clothing, but the need is MUCH greater than that. On average, the entire store’s inventory turns over every two days.
Unlike Goodwill, all donations stay in the St. Paul community and there is no profit-making on the sale of donated goods. Donations are accepted Tuesdays and Thursdays, these are the “shelf stocking days” at Joseph’s Coat.
Grouse
I drive by that every day going to and from work, Grouse. That’s really neat that you do that. Thank you for sharing and very good info to know.
Bless you Sharon 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I donated many of Billy’s shoes to Neighbors, Inc. today. I’m glad the lady accepting the donation didn’t inquire, as I probably would have started crying if I had to explain the situation. Neighbors is a local non-profit in SSP who helps our community in a number of ways. They are the organization where Billy bought his gently used suit which he wore to the Mistletoe dance at my high school as my date in 1999. That was 20 years ago this month. And Neighbors helped us out when Billy was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and was out of work for 6 months by providing us some bags of groceries. So it seemed fitting to me that we donate most of his shoes to them, for which they can either sell in their thrift store or give to someone in need through their programs.
Bless you Sharon
times ten million!!
Grouse,
What types of clothing is your organization looking for? I have way more shirts and coats then I could possible wear in my lifetime.
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