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Life & Sole finds a new home

Charity giving children, at-risk young people & crisis families access to preloved shoes moves into Mailbox

Life & Sole, one of Networkfour’s charity projects, has been given premises within Mailbox to store and distribute, preloved, good quality, FREE, donated shoes to vulnerable children throughout Birmingham and the Midlands. These are children facing footwear poverty and moments of great vulnerability.

Networkfour supports some of the most vulnerable people in our city through a number of different projects including Birmingham Pastors, LifeLineFour and Life & Sole.

Networkfour is the vital safety-net for many in Birmingham and surrounding areas explains Founder and Project Director, Gary Wicker - Networkfour: “Nobody is immune to difficult times and, now more than ever, we are finding daily people are really struggling and need someone to pull alongside them, offering a listening ear and some support, and that’s what we do best.

“We also find that so many people want to help, but don’t know how to access this, and again, that’s where we can help. Whether its time, awareness or donations, we make sure that whatever people are able to give is received by those who really need it.”

Life & Sole’s aim is to help vulnerable children, at-risk young people and crisis families get to school and work in shoes that are fit for purpose.

“If a child or young person doesn’t have the shoes to get them to school, or they are in pain and or cold from wet feet, they struggle massively to learn, and with this simple act of kindness we can all play our part to prevent little feet going cold or being uncomfortable or wet. We see a daily rising level of poverty within all communities and across the Midlands, and this is a simple, practical and tangible way you can help us to offer love, care and compassionate support.

“Once a child is in school, they are able to learn, interact and receive support which is essential for them to thrive.

“We have been inundated by good quality donations of shoes and were desperate for somewhere to keep them. We are so grateful to the amazing team at the Mailbox for their support. We have a phenomenal space to store shoes, a fabulous vinyl helping to raise awareness of our aims and how to donate and how you can volunteer and get involved.

“But there is so much more to be done and together, Mailbox is helping Networkfour, and our fabulous volunteer team bring hope to thousands of vulnerable lives facing no hope and struggling to cope. We are eternally grateful. Thank you so much.” added Gary.

Andy Jackson, Mailbox Estate Director, said: “When we heard about the work Networkfour and the Life & Sole project does for our city, we knew we had to support them. They offer grass roots, practical support to so many vulnerable children and young people. By offering them storage and promoting their service, we can help raise the profile of their work, and facilitate the distribution of thousands of shoes, preventing waste shoe material ending up in unnecessary landfill.

“As children go back to school after half term, it’s heart-breaking to think 6 in every 30 school age children suffer horrific footwear poverty in our city and surrounding areas, and they simply don’t have the means to access decent, dry, appropriate footwear.

“The work Life & Sole does ensures that so many children and young people will be able to obtain the support they need, protecting them from poverty and providing a hope for a better future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katherine Busby .