Back-to-school sneaker giveaway set Sunday in Ottawa’s Washington Park

Last year, Andrew Oldenburg held an event giving away free, restored shoes in Ottawa.

He received about 300 donated pairs and estimated that he gave away 250 to 270 pairs.

“Everyone was super grateful,” Oldenburg said.

The Ottawa resident added that people were seeking him out to personally thank him. A few people brought food and bottled water.

He expects this year’s event on Sunday to be even bigger. His Facebook page, Clean Soles, has reached more than 50,000 people in the past two weeks. This summer, he received about 500 shoe donations – so many that he had to rent a storage unit. He has spent about 40 to 60 hours restoring the donated shoes.

“It’s gotten so much bigger than I thought it would,” Oldenburg said. “It seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year, and I hope it does.”

A shoe collector himself, he got into footwear cleaning and sneaker restoration about six years ago for his own collection.

“Then friends wanted them cleaned, and the next thing I knew, I had a little client list,” Oldenburg said.

He worked at the Ottawa YMCA for a few years and saw the need was there for such an event.

“The idea is to hopefully give out brand-new shoes to everybody, but at this point, I can’t afford that yet,” Oldenburg said. “But that’s the end goal.”

The sneaker giveaway begins at 10 a.m. Sunday at Washington Square in Ottawa. Kid’s, women’s and men’s shoes will be available in all sizes. All pairs are free, but stock is limited to one pair per family member.