Cobblers Collecting Shoes for Homeless

Have a few pairs of shoes gathering dust at the back of your closet? Two Valley shoe-repair shops are collecting wearable but unwanted shoes as part of a nationwide effort to help the homeless.

The Shoes for the Shoeless program started in 1995 as a way for repair shops to do something productive with pairs that had been dropped off to be fixed but were never picked up. Through the program, sponsored by the Shoe Service Institute of America, local residents can now donate their old shoes to repair shops that, in turn, give them to organizations that aid the homeless.

“It’s a recycling kind of thing,” said Mitch Lebovic, spokesman for the trade organization. “We’re taking unwanted footwear and putting them on the feet of people who need them.”

The program collects 100,000 pairs of shoes annually across the country.

Those who wish to donate shoes can drop them off at two locations:

* John’s Expert Shoe and Luggage Repair, 6748 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.

* Deluxe Shoe Repair, 5204 Vineland Ave., North Hollywood, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.