‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through Bluffton…5,550 pairs of repurposed shoes were loaded into a large Penske truck instead of a landfill.

Or so goes the poem.

It's true. Could you have guessed that many shoes would be donated by area residents to Bluffton Family Recreation just since October?

- MORE PHOTOS BELOW -

BFR’s goal was to collect 200 bags – there are 25 pair of shoes per bag – and 550 pairs topped that ambitious goal.

The shoe collection serves several good causes:
• It keeps shoes from filling landfills
• The shoes go to community-based groups around the world where they are repaired and resold or recycled
• The donated shoes generate money for BFR’s programming

This is the fourth year for BFR’s shoe drive. During it, BFR partners with Funds2orgs.com.

The previous three shoe drives generated over $4,000 to BFR.  It took about a dozen volunteers over 30 minutes to load the bags in the send-off truck.