Our hero, Dario Gouveia, started his Sole2Sole initiative in February 2017; he has touched the lives of thousands and inspired other children to help, too!
Johannesburg, South Africa (02 June 2017) – Dario Gouveia was selected as the first Spar Hero of the Week, because of this, we thought we would share all the amazing work he has done since we first wrote about him in February.
Dario saw a child on the street with no shoes and sore-looking feet. He wondered how many other children were suffering this way and decided to start collecting shoes to give to children in need. Since his initiative Sole2Sole was started, he has collected over 6,000 pairs of shoes.
The good news doesn’t end there, though; Dario’s mother, Zita, emailed us this morning to let us know just how far this initiative has spread!
It’s been quite a emotional journey for Dario♡ We are so humbled by the Domino effect Sole2Sole has had on the youth…
A mom who saw the initial article in Feb contacted us.. Since then her daughter Rubi Nates took it upon herself to collect Soles in CT. She has concluded her collection at 3100 pairs of Shoes.
Cape Town isn’t the only place this initiative has ventured. It has also travelled across oceans!
Sole2Sole New Zealand was launched by one of Dario’s Friends who immigrated and she too wanted to Help those in need… To date she Collects shoes for the Salvation army in NZ and has the backing of a big cellular company called SPARK.
A little boy saw the Sole2Sole story and thought it was a bit odd to give shoes away without any socks, so he started collecting socks and joined up with Dario to hand out socks with the shoes.
To date, Dario has been on various hand outs with Aaron. Aaron has collected over 5000 pairs of socks and has had the backing of Bouce… who donated over 2500 pairs of socks to his cause.
There are so many stories of how the initiative has inspired others! Shops have signed up to be collection points, schools have gotten involved and individuals have also taken up the cause! To keep up to date on Dario’s progress, check out his Facebook page.
People have really been amazing and we are so overwhelmed especially by the YOUTH that want to get involved! ♡♡♡
It is because of all this amazing work that he was chosen as our very first Spar Hero of the Week.
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