Celebrities Go Nuts and Take Off Their Shoes for Soles4Souls®, The Shoe Charity

Stars, including Sir Elton John, the Kardashian family and Yankee All-Stars, donate their shoes for charity auction

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Apr 20, 2011, 04:09 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Soles4Souls®, the international shoe charity, announced Wednesday a line-up of a-list celebrities who decided to take off their shoes for a good cause. What began as a staff shoe drive internally at NBCUniversal 30 Rock studios for the charity's Japan relief efforts quickly progressed into stars like Jimmy Fallon, Jessica Simpson, Elton John, the Today Show crew, and the Yankees dropping off their autographed shoes for auction.

The Celebrity shoe auction, which also includes worn game shoes from Lamar Odom, shoes from the Kardashian sisters' closets, and signed game cleats from Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, C.C. Sabathia, Joe Girardi, and Robinson Cano, will launch in coordination with Soles4Souls' 4th annual National Barefoot Week. The national holiday takes place June 1-7, 2011 to raise awareness for the more than 300 million children in the world who go barefoot everyday because they can't afford shoes. The auction will extend through June 15, 2011 with the auction site TBA.

Other celebrities that kicked off their soles for the auction include Brooke Burke, Paris Hilton, Matthew Morrison, Chelsea Handler, Tom Brokaw, Joan and Melissa Rivers, Brian Williams, the entire SNL cast, Quest Love of "The Roots," and the Access Hollywood cast.

National Barefoot Week 2011 will jump off Wednesday, June 1st and will include shoe distributions in 7 major cities including LA, Atlanta, and Boston. Individuals are encouraged to go barefoot to work, school, or out and about at least one of those days to raise awareness for those worldwide in need of shoes. Soles4Souls has distributed more than 13 million pairs of shoes worldwide.

"I want to say thanks to our friends at NBCUniversal for supporting our 2011 National Barefoot Week by donating the shoes off their feet," said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls. "Diseases can be prevented and lives can be saved by providing shoes to children and adults around the world who live in extreme poverty. These famous shoes will be auctioned to support Soles4Souls relief efforts in Japan and other countries recovering from natural disasters."

For more information on the auction and how to bid, or to find out how you can get involved in Soles4Souls 2011 National Barefoot Week, visit www.giveshoes.org.

About Soles4Souls®, Clothes4Souls®, and Hope4Souls™

Soles4Souls collects new shoes to give relief to the victims of abject suffering and collects used shoes to support micro-enterprise efforts to eradicate poverty. Soles4Souls' other two divisions, Clothes4Souls and Hope4Souls, provide the same relief and support through clothing and other necessities. Donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Visit www.giveshoes.org, www.clothes4souls.org, or www.hope4souls.org for more information.

SOURCE Soles4Souls