A local nonprofit Pennsylvania organization is looking to turn old shoes into a step in the right direction for former convicts. Over the course of the past month, the HandUp Foundation (HUF), with assistance from area churches, has been collecting old shoes. The shoes collected will be sold to a Canadian company that reconditions footwear for the secondary market. The company is taking in the shoes at a rate of 40 cents per pound. HUF's goal was to raise 10,000 pounds. 
With collection from the local churches slated to begin later this week, Doug Diven, executive director of HUF, said he estimates the group has garnered about 5,000 pounds of shoes.
“To people, it's old shoes, but to us it's finances,” said Jim Roy, associate director for HUF. “Giving something little becomes a great value.”
Roy said with the holiday season well under way, wallets tend to be a little tighter, so donating old shoes was a great way for people to show their support. The money from the shoes will be used to support HUF's curriculum and mentor programs aimed at helping recently released convicts adjust to life outside prison.
“Since some have been locked up since they were young or others for a long time, they need to get reacquainted with society,” Roy said. “We want to create jobs.”
Roy, a former police officer, said everyone makes mistakes, and former prisoners need a way to fill in the void — a way to regain pride and self-esteem to make themselves an asset in the working world. Roy said mentor programs through HUF will give former convicts a work history. He said local industries have indicated they would consider hiring a former prisoner with a positive work history through a mentor program.