No Child Left Behind ft. Shulem Lemmer | Solemates - a Project of Mesamche Lev No Child Left Behind ft. Shulem Lemmer | Solemates - a Project of Mesamche Lev

SoleMate: Putting Shoes on the Feet of Thousands of Children and Bringing Smiles to Their Faces. Massive-Scale Impact. One Pair of Shoes at a Time. As Mesamche Lev's flagship initiative, SoulMate is designed to create meaningful and strategic impact. By negotiating with factories for discounted bulk purchases, we can provide top-quality, up-to-date styles – the same ones that retail elsewhere for around $100 a pair - with the actual total cost of the shoes at approximately 4 million dollars in retail value. Thanks to this massive initiative, tens of thousands of children walk out from the distribution centers with shining new pairs of shoes that their families couldn’t afford otherwise. A Shiny Pair of New Shoes. An Even Shinier Smile. A new pair of shoes for a child is more than just shoes - it gives them a feeling of pride and satisfaction. Especially children whose parents often cannot afford necessities and rely on hand-me-downs from siblings. These new shoes often replace their old, tattered, worn-out pairs that have holes, poking toes, or flapping soles and give the children the gift of comfort and dignity. Thanks to this initiative, thousands of families don’t have to choose between a new pair of shoes, putting food on the table, or paying an electric bill. Upscale Quality and Experience These annual events are designed to help families maintain their dignity and pride by giving them a convenient shopping experience - the expansive distribution centers are transformed into shopping hubs with aisles upon aisles of quality shoes. Samples of the shoes are displayed boutique-style in showcases in the tents. The tent is organized with separate sections for boys’ and girls’ weekday and Shabbos shoes, as well as by size. A Convenient “Shopping” Experience: Over 75 volunteers and employees oversee this operation across Eretz Yisroel, assisting the "Shoppers" with care and consideration. The friendly staff serves the recipients promptly, with little to no waiting time, which is especially crucial during the busy pre-Pesach days. Once a family has obtained all their shoes, they proceed to the cashier, where they "pay" a nominal amount of 20 shekels per pair to give them the feeling of purchasing their shoes rather than receiving tzedaka. Step Up Your Support to Keep this Initiative Going Mesamche Lev conducts its 'Solemates' Campaign once every two years to raise funds for two years of Shoe Distribution. By running the campaign bi-annually, they can save the operational costs of such a campaign, ensuring that every dollar goes towards the cause. Mesamche Lev team members are contacting donors to help sponsor 80,000 pairs of shoes at $34 per pair, totaling $2,720,000.