Niagara University models creative recycling with Falls sandals

Many friends of the Eastern Province have visited Niagara Falls. Sandal Falls, previously known as the Sustainable Sandals Project and Project Angel Shoes, is a local operation coordinated through Niagara University that collects sandals that are gently worn by tourists who visit the Cave of the Winds attraction in Niagara Falls. The sandals are stylish, sturdy, comfortable, and waterproof. Instead of throwing approximately 300,000 of these sandals away, the Cave of the Winds donates them to Sandal Falls.

Volunteers and supporters of the project sort, sanitize and box the sandals, which are then distributed to individuals in need of footwear worldwide. Locally, Sandal Falls gives the sandals to churches, missions, soup kitchens, community centers and street outreaches. The sandals are also sent to organizations nationally to be distributed to their missions. Internationally, the sandals are sent to areas in need of shoes such as Cuba, Haiti, India, Kenya and Malaysia.

At NU, faculty and staff have taken sandals on mission trips to Malawi, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Here’s an update from a team that recently returned from Nigeria! The sandals from Sandal Falls: A BOLD Projectwere provided to about 1800 kids who were displaced from their homes by the terrorist group Boko Haram.