Stepping Out of Poverty: Buddy Teaster of Soles4Souls

"As you work from home or shelter in place, if cleaning out your closet is one of the tasks you decide to tackle, folks can donate their used shoes and clothes to Soles4Souls and our amazing partner Zappos will pay for the shipping! Just visit this link to learn more and get a pre-printed shipping label. We believe generosity is good for the soul, especially if you’re social distancing!” -- Soles4Souls 

One in five children in developing countries survive on $1.90/day. That’s nearly 385 million girls and boys living in extreme poverty worldwide, who often lack access to basic goods and services - including shoes. 

This week, hear from Buddy Teaster, the CEO of Soles4Souls, a nonprofit committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing. Buddy is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and run a number of companies, including ClickPatrol, an online advertising company, and RTM, a professional development network for university alumni and membership organizations. 

"Economic impact is just another way to think about business," says Buddy. "To me, the biggest difference is finding the right way to have a North Star. A way to evaluate every decision that allows you to balance the mission and the financial performance.”

Eva YazhariPoverty