Northport Rotary: Making a Positive Impact on the Community

The Rotary club of Northport is located on the scenic northern coast of Long Island, New York.  We are  an energetic community composed of a welcoming and passionate group of individuals, who raise funds and create initiatives that address the needs of various groups in need of assistance. With a blend of camaraderie, dedication, and impactful strategies, Northport Rotary exemplifies the true meaning of

“Service Above Self”.

Join us for the 17th Anita and Bill Thomas Rotary Soles4Souls Shoe Drive, March 1 – March 28,2026.

Save the Month of March! Honor Anita and Bill Thomas by donating your used shoes to someone who really needs them.

Northport Rotary and East Northport Rotary announce our 17th Annual Soles4Souls Shoe Drive, named for our founders, Anita and Bill Thomas. Anita and Bill led the way with an initial collection of 500 pairs of shoes at Gold’s Gym in East Northport to over 20,000 pairs in recent years. As Anita said: “What is most inspiring in this is the outpouring of community spirit, particularly from the children.” We are hoping for a strong response this year to honor Anita and Bill, lost to COVID-19.

We are now confirming box location sites that will include area schools, churches, businesses, Rotary clubs and other organizations. A full list of locations will be posted on our website, northportrotary.org, by March 1, 2026. Many thanks to Westy’s Self Storage on JerichoTurnpike in East Northport for their support during the drive again this year.

Soles4Souls was established by a group of shoe industry executives in response to global disasters. Their mission is to alleviate poverty through new and used shoes and clothing.  Soles4Souls distributes new shoes provided by their sponsors to people in immediate need, e.g., disaster victims and those in desperate need, in the U.S. and around the world. All of the shoes collected in drives are provided to micro-entrepreneurs through micro finance for them to refurbish and resell at small markups.

Not only do people in great need get shoes but the sellers establish a sustainable source of income to feed their families and dig their way out of poverty.

The World Bank estimates that over 330 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty. Millions of these children will grow up never having had a pair of shoes. Many are not able to attend school without shoes. Barefoot kids are infected by soil-transmitted parasitic diseases like hookworm, causing lastingsuffering and lifelong debilitation.

“We support Soles4Souls because it is effective in distributingshoes where the need is, in the U.S. and worldwide, in response to disasters and deep poverty,” said Anita. Soles4Souls hasdistributed over 112 million pairs of shoes and clothing items.

“The simple truth is that almost everyone with a closet has shoes they no longer wear, or an old pair that otherwise will end up in a landfill,” said Thomas. “Give those to us, and know that you are taking a step toward making the world a better place for all of us.