through its reuse-a-show program, nike offers you an opportunity to turn your old tennis shoes into indoor/outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, or running tracks. simply locate a drop-off site near you and donate up to ten pairs of old sneakers. nike takes care of the rest grinding your shoes into a variety of gym/court surfaces. it’s easy. it’s simple. it’s green. and it removes clutter.
unfortunately, if you don’t live in a large population center you may be out of luck. although nike boasts 300 drop-off sites, that isn’t many when you are talking about a global operation. and mailing a package of shoes to oregon doesn’t seem to be the most cost effective approach to getting rid of your old shoes (or environmentally friendly when you break it down). but it can’t hurt to check if they have a drop-off site near you.
the sneakers you once used to dominate your opponent may just become the very floor you beat them on.
Salvation Army as well.
Another great idea that I found is donating shoes to soles4souls.org
Soles4Souls has a simple mission: To impact as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes.
Soles4Souls facilitates the donations of shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Shoe companies, retailers, and individuals can donate footwear (both new and used). Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS, and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages.
The idea behind gifts of shoes is nothing new to the Soles4Souls team, as they coordinated relief efforts for the Asian Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, netting over 1 Million pairs donated for these disasters. The team originally operated as http://www.katrinashoes.org with several churches partnering in the collection and distribution of footwear.