Today marks the first time in RunningShoes.com history where someone can add a charitable donation to their order during the checkout process.

So, where do these contributions go?

Every dollar donated at RunningShoes.com will be sent to Soles4Souls. The Nashville-based charity has a mission of changing the world one pair of shoes at a time. Each dollar is enough to outfit someone in need with something so many of us take for granted—a pair of shoes. Those individuals can be found throughout the world whether they are victims of a natural disaster like an earthquake, hurricane or tsunami or a resident of an impoverished community.

The idea for Soles4Souls began in the wake of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia when founder Wayne Elsey called upon shoe executives to donate a quarter of a million shoes to devastated countries. Since that time, Soles4Souls has raised millions of dollars to aid victims of disaster and poverty.

Why are shoes so important? Soles4Souls estimates that there are more than 300 million children worldwide who do not have access to adequate footwear. Footwear is a necessary guard against the spread of disease and soil-transmitted parasites. They also make walking and running much easier.

To date, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 18 million pairs of shoes in 130 countries. And not all of those shoes are brand new. Actually, many of the shoes they send across the world had previous owners. With hundreds of thousands of shoes thrown away each year in America, Soles4Souls encourages people to donate instead of trashing their old shoes. The collected shoes go through a quality-control check-in process at its 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Wadley, Ala. Watch the following video to find out more about how they determine which shoes go where.

As for the shoes that don’t make the cut? Soles4Souls says that only 1 percent of donated shoes fit in this category. Yet, instead of ending up in a landfill, those shoes make their way to a waste-to-energy facility and are used to create clean, renewable energy.

Be sure to check out the Soles4Souls donation box during your next purchase at RunningShoes.com. Also, check out Soles4Souls on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Here’s to changing the world one pair at a time. We are so happy to help!