Catholic parishes and institutions are drop-off sites in major drives for new or gently used shoes now taking place in the Bloomington and Peoria regions. Here are the details.

SEEK 30,000 PAIRS OF SHOES IN AUGUST; 10 PEORIA-AREA PARISHES AMONG DROP-OFF SITES

MORTON — Are there 30,000 pairs of shoes in closets around central Illinois that are no longer being worn? The Iona Group and Float, in partnership with St. Ann’s WATCH program, are willing to bet there are and they’d be happy to put the footwear back to work.

New and used shoes will be collected throughout August at more than 65 locations in the Morton and Peoria area as part of the Shoes for Water campaign. They will be donated to WaterStep, which will sell the shoes to an exporter and use the profits to fund water treatment systems in third world countries.

The usable shoes will be sold to local merchants, who will, in turn, sell them to people in need. Not only will this help the small business owners to provide for their own families, but it will protect the feet of the recipients from cuts, parasites and mites.

Among the drop-off sites for Shoes for Water are several Catholic parishes and institutions, including: St. Anthony, Bartonville; St. Mary of Lourdes, Germantown Hills; St. Mary, Metamora; Blessed Sacrament, Morton; St. Joseph, Pekin; St. Ann, St. Mark, St. Philomena, St. Vincent de Paul and Holy Family, Peoria; and Immaculate Conception Convent, West Peoria. In addition, shoes will be accepted by the Knights of Columbus, Spalding Council No. 427, and at the Peoria Cursillo/TEC Center, both in Peoria.

The list of drop-off locations is expected to change weekly. For additional sites, visit ionagroup.com/shoes.

More than 70,000 pairs of shoes have been collected since the Shoes for Water campaign started in 2012.

OSF SHOE DRIVE BENEFITS HOME SWEET HOME MINISTRIES IN BLOOMINGTON

BLOOMINGTON — Home Sweet Home Ministries of Bloomington will benefit from donations of new or gently shoes as part of the OSF Shoe Drive, which will take place Aug. 5-14. The 14th annual event is sponsored by OSF St. Joseph Medical Center.

Shoes may be dropped off 24 hours a day in the red bins from Home Sweet Home Ministries at:

— OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, 2200 E. Washington St., Bloomington, in the parking lot along Veteran’s Parkway;

— OSF Medical Group, 1701 E. College Ave., Bloomington, in the parking lot off of Jumer Drive; and

— OSF Center for Health at Fort Jesse, 2200 Fort Jesse Road, Normal, in the parking lot.

There will also be five drop-off locations OSF St. Joseph Medical Center — one inside each entrance — for donations during regular business hours.

People are asked to put a rubber band or zip tie around each pair of shoes before dropping them in the collection bins to make it easier to sort them. Please do not drop shoe boxes into the bins.

Wearable shoes will be given to the Mission Mart Thrift Store at Home Sweet Home Ministries for retail sale. All other shoes will be recycled.

Those who would like a receipt may go directly to the donation center at the back of the Mission Mart, 301 E. Oakland Ave.

Home Sweet Home Ministries is a full-service homeless shelter that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information, visit hshministries.org.