Donate Shoes – Save Lives
Donate Shoes – Save Lives
Louisville Sports Commission and Louisville Water Company partner with
WaterStep to collect shoes for water purification efforts
Louisville, Ky. – August 27, 2014 – The Louisville Sports Commission and Louisville Water Company are once again collaborating with WaterStep to help the organization collect shoes to assist with its water purification efforts.
Walkers and runners participating in the Louisville pure tap® 5K on Sept. 6 can donate shoes at the Louisville Water Tower during packet pick-up on Sept. 5 or during the race on Sept. 6. WaterStep will sell the donated shoes to help finance its water projects, which are focused on saving lives at risk from waterborne illness around the world.
“One of the Louisville Sports Commission’s tenets is to help improve the quality of life for our local community” said Karl Schmitt, executive director of the Louisville Sports Commission. “We hope that by providing WaterStep the opportunity to connect with our Louisville pure tap® 5K participants, WaterStep is able to continue to improve the quality of life for its global clients.”
“Partnering with WaterStep makes perfect sense,” said Kelley Dearing-Smith, communications and government relations director of the Louisville Water Company. “We both share a common goal of making sure everyone has access to safe drinking water.”
“In fact, the process of creating chlorine with electrolysis that WaterStep uses to clean contaminated water supplies in developing countries is actually one that was part of landmark filtration experiments at Louisville Water in 1896,” continued Dearing-Smith.
“We’re so excited to have been selected as the Louisville pure tap® 5K charity.” said Jennifer Poe, co-director of WaterStep’s Shoe Program. “Louisville Water has been such a great longtime partner; our missions align, we’re both in the business of saving lives with safe water.
The Louisville pure tap® 5K is the first race of the Louisville Sports Commission Fall Runathon, a series of three fall running races that provides unique courses and quality experiences for runners and walkers. Following the Louisville pure tap® 5K is the second annual Norton Sports Health Great Pumpkin 10K, set to take place on Oct.4 in the Parklands of Floyds Fork. The Fall Runathon concludes with the Urban Bourban Half Marathon on Oct. 25, which starts in downtown Louisville on the historic Whiskey Row, follows the Scenic Loop in Cherokee Park and ends in front of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Main Street. To register, or for more information, log on to FallRunathon.com.