Shoe-in

Zachary Wies-Damm, a 12-year-old from Baldwin, has a thing for shoes. But unlike many who enjoy fancy footwear, Zachary’s motivation is entirely selfless: His collection of athletic shoes will be shipped off to Nike headquarters, where the rubber soles will be recycled and used to create soft playground surfaces for children.

The playgrounds, of course, will be appreciated by the generations of kids who will enjoy them, and the shoe-recycling program has the added benefit of reducing the carbon “footprint” the defunct sneakers would otherwise leave on the environment.

Zachary began his collection last September, as part of his bar mitzvah project through the Congregation B'Nai

Sholom-Beth David Rockville Centre. He completed it earlier this month. The Nike Corporation provided a partial sponsorship for his effort, and FedEx chipped in free shipping.

Using word of mouth and social media to publicize his campaign, Zachary recruited a recycling team of friends who helped sort, count, clean and package the sneakers. The grand totals for the final push were impressive: 412 pairs of shoes, 17 shipping cartons, six rolls of packing tape and three pizzas.

“We went through many spray bottles of Febreze, but this experience really helped our son Zach understand doing good for his community,” said Zachary’s father, Richard Damm, an outspoken member of the Baldwin community. “His 9-year-old brother, Michael, is now collecting bottles to recycle, but he’s in it for the nickels more than the environment.”