Soles4Souls® and flipflop® wines' Flippin' Best Blogger Revealed

Stephanie Taylor Smith of "The Musings of a Silly Girl" Collects Thousands of Shoes for Flippin' Good Deeds Blogger Challenge

News provided by

Soles4Souls

Dec 05, 2011, 12:19 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Soles4Souls (www.soles4souls.org), a charity that provides shoes for the needy), today announced the winner of their flippin' good deeds Blogger Challenge, exclusively sponsored by flipflop wines (www.flipflopwines.com). The winner, blogger Stephanie Taylor Smith of The Musings of a Silly Girl, collected over four thousand shoes for Soles4Souls in under 3 months.

"We are very excited to see bloggers supporting this initiative so enthusiastically," said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls. "It is evident that Stephanie Taylor Smith shares our passion for helping people. We are grateful that there are bloggers and influencers like her who can help spread our mission and build support for our cause."

The Soles4Souls flippin' good deeds challenge called for bloggers to encourage their communities and their readers to donate lightly-worn shoes to Soles4Souls and blog about their progress. After hearing about the challenge in early September, Smith launched a full-scale shoe- collection campaign on her blog. She set up a shoe drive at her children's elementary school and asked those without shoes to spare to spread the word about Soles4Souls by sharing a link on their facebook or blog. Smith blogged regularly about the process and even began saving her own money to fund a trip with Soles4Souls even if she did not win the grand prize. Together with bloggers across the country like Runners up, Western Carolina University's CJ Club and TravelerForGood, thousands of pairs of shoes were collected through the Soles4Souls flippin' good deeds Challenge.

"Winning this challenge has just made my week. I am so excited to have won and been able to help so many people in the process," said Smith.

The flippin' good deeds Challenge is a product of the unique partnership between the flipflop brand and Soles4Souls. Since teaming up with Soles4Souls earlier this year, flipflop has already donated over $100,000 from the proceeds of their wine sales and over a thousand pairs of shoes from their shoe drives.

"We are so happy to be able to help Soles4Souls get one step closer to achieving their goal of providing shoes to the millions of people a year who go without," said David Georges, vintner, flipflop wines. "Through our partnership with Soles4Souls we are able to give back to the community that has helped us flourish."

In the upcoming months Stephanie Taylor Smith will join Soles4Souls on an international trip to distribute shoes to those in need.

To learn more about Soles4Souls, visit www.Soles4Souls.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.

About Underdog Wine & Spirits Underdog Wine & Spirits, an unleashed unit of The Wine Group, is the champion of emerging brands for the new millennium: the "underdogs" of the sometimes stuffy wine and spirits world. We work with domestic and international producers to craft unique adult beverages that are a breed apart. The home of Cupcake, FishEye, flipflop, Big House and Octavin Home Wine Bar, our portfolio includes many of today's most dynamic growth brands. Visit www.UDWS.com for more information.

SOURCE Soles4Souls