The Tennessean
December 20, 2009 Sunday
HEADLINE: Charity's name echoes philosophy of another
By Brad
Schrade and Andy Humbles
THE TENNESSEAN
Wayne Elsey says he and his colleagues developed the business plan and name for their charity - Soles4Souls - in a strategy session at a MaggieMoo's ice cream shop in Williamson County sometime after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.
Soles4Souls incorporated in February 2006, and its trademarked motto is "Changing the world one pair at a time."
"We came up with the name," Elsey said. "We came up with the tag line. We had our graphic designer start penciling in some logos."
But Soles4Souls sounds similar to the philosophy of the leader of another shoe charity, Samaritan's Feet, a group that partnered with the Nashville charity on getting shoes to Hurricane Katrina's victims. That organization was founded in 2003 in Charlotte, N.C.
The Rev. Emmanuel "Manny" Ohonme founded that ministry, which donates athletic shoes to children in developing countries. Ohonme - who grew up in Africa - used to say "A sole for a soul" in presentations he gave about the charity. He did not have the phrase trademarked.
A lengthy March 2004 feature article about Ohonme in the Charlotte Observer described a presentation he gave to a group:
"It's an opportunity to bless others, he'd say. A soul for a sole. Be a Samaritan. Give a shoe. Change a life."
Speaking to a local college, Ohonme again used the phrase in January 2005, saying the mission of the ministry was to give a "sole for a soul," according to an article in the Goldsboro (N.C.) New-Argus.
Elsey said he never heard Ohonme utter the phrase and was unaware he used it. He said Ohonme has never said anything to him about the subject.
"Our name has nothing to do with their organization," Elsey said.
In addition to partnering on the hurricane efforts, the two groups worked together in 2008 on a barefoot drive led by Samaritan's Feet. Soles4Souls sent 40,000 shoes, but 24,000 of them were flip-flops. Ohonme said Samaritan's Feet was expecting athletics shoes because that's what it gives away. Elsey said Soles4Souls lived up to its commitment.
Brad
Schrade can be reached
at 615-259-8086 or bschrade@
tennessean.com. Andy Humbles can be reached at ahumbles@
tennessean.com.
LOAD-DATE: December 20, 2009
