Homeless charity raises thousands from special shoes
An anonymous donor recently placed a special pair of shoes in the donation chute at a homeless charity’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
Staff at the charity, the Portland Rescue Mission, noticed the shoes, gold-coloured Nike Air Jordan 3s, right away, but thought at first they must be illegal replicas of the real thing.
No less a person than Nike’s vice-president of design and creative concepts, Tinker Hatfield, the lead designer of the Air Jordans, went to the charity to look at the shoes and confirmed that they were genuine.
He explained that this was a pair that he had custom-designed in 2019 for film director Spike Lee. Mr Hatfield donated a replacement box for the shoes and autographed the box for good measure.
The shoes went on sale at auction house Sotheby’s on December 18 and sold for more than $50,000.
A director at the charity, Erin Holcomb, said: “We are so grateful for the way this incredible story has focused the attention on the people we serve at Portland Rescue Mission and on the heroic acts of everyday generosity that keep our doors open.”
Image shows Erin Holcomb with the special shoes.
Credit: The Portland Rescue Mission.
