Scottsdale shelter gets renovation; all possible thanks to old shoes
Scottsdale's only homeless shelter for families got a much-needed renovation, and it was all possible because of an unlikely item, old shoes.
"We're primarily serving first-time homeless families, these are families that through circumstances and situations just became short time homeless, and we're able to bring them in," said
"Family Promise" is a shelter that helps families get back on their feet during a transitional period, and the facility in Scottsdale recently got a much-needed renovation to it's basketball court.
"We had kind of an uneven, pot holed pavement area, and when Keep Scottsdale Beautiful said they'd like to provide us with a sport court, it was just out of the blue, a total surprise," said Ted Taylor.
That court was built from something that is probably sitting in your closet, that you've probably never though of.
"The whole community of Scottsdale came together to donate shoes in order to raise enough rubber to basically build this court, and that is stunning," said Lisa Randall
"The shoes were then sorted, those that still had a second life went onto a better home, and those that had seen better days were then ground up and made into new products, such as the sport court here at Family Promise," she said.
The group Keep Scottsdale Beautiful held a drive during the Super Bowl, hoping to collect 49,000 shoes. And even though the group fell short of it's goal, there were plenty for the project.
"Never throw away a shoe, some shoes will be recycled, some shoes have a second life and and go on to someone who needs them," said Taylor.
The shelter only houses 12 families at a time and has locations throughout the valley.