Students Organize Reuse-A-Shoe Campaign With Merritt

SALISBURY, MD---It takes some 3,000 athletic shoes to make a basketball court. What happens to athletic shoes past their prime? That’s the question designers, chemists and students in a Salisbury University personalized health class taught by Dr. Victoria Hutching are challenging the community to answer by donating their worn-out sneakers to Reuse-A-Shoe, a footwear recycling program founded by Nike Inc. in 1993. In the past decade, Nike has recycled more than 15 million pairs of shoes into 150 new sports surfaces including soccer and football fields, basketball and tennis courts, tracks and playgrounds for kids in underprivileged communities around the world. "Nike's long-term commitment to help increase the physical activity of young people to improve their lives is shared by the faculty at SU who teach personalized health fitness, a required general education course,” said Hutchinson. “Projects like this really bring to life the significance of being responsible about the environment, a topic that they read about in the course textbook.” In partnership with the Merritt Racquetball Fitness Club, students are asking the SU and Salisbury communities to join them in the recycling project. Old athletic shoes of any brand may be dropped off at two locations: the Campus Recreation Office in Maggs Physical Activities Center Room 146 and the Merritt Club at 201 Milford Street. The collection ends Friday, May 7. For more information call 410-543-6350 or 410-749-7198.