Big Hearts Big Soles provides for lost souls
boulder » When it comes to meeting some of the unmet needs of homeless and impoverished communities across the Denver-Boulder area, Liza McKenzie andKerri Scharfenberg figured they had big shoes to fill.
Or is that, big feet to shoe?
In October, the two Boulder residents founded Big Hearts Big Soles Inc., a charitable organization dedicated to finding footwear— among other clothing items — for people without the economic means to buy those items. In particular, the organization is dedicated to providing shoes to people who wear large sizes that rarely — if ever— end up in thrift stores or at donation centers.
Big Hearts Big Soles got its start by chance, as its founders tell it. McKenzie was at the Salvation Army location on 33rd Street in Boulder to drop off some donation items when she overheard a phone conversation between the clerk and Scharfenberg.
Scharfenberg, who is a direct care counselor at Boulder homeless and runaway youth shelter Attention Homes, was calling in search of a pair of size 17 shoes for one of the young men staying at the shelter.
As it happened, McKenzie had a family friend at Niwot-based shoe company Crocs Inc.
She made a phone call, and despite the local ties, Crocs shipped in a pair of 17s specially from out of state to donate to the youth.
“I just thought this is a person who has had a hard enough life,” McKenzie said. “That’s the way it all fell into place.”