After vacationing in Puerto Vallarta for over 15 years, Cheryl Schrean made Mexico her home in 2010. Cheryl put a unique stamp on everything she did, including the many volunteer projects she was involved in around the city. After many friends asking what they could do to help, she started suggesting shoes. Cheryl started collecting shoes for various fundraisers and in 2011 started her own charity, “Cheryl’s Shoebox”. By 2013, Cheryl, with the help of many friends and the supportive local businesses, distributed over 4,000 pairs of shoes that year alone.

Cheryl donated her time and effort to many charities in Puerto Vallarta over the years she lived here. Today we are continuing the shoebox in her memory.

Shortly after Cheryl passed, Vicki Steuterville, Michael Hammond, and Jaime Baldridge decided to keep her efforts going and Cheryl’s Shoebox was reborn. Throughout the years, we have received assistance from Dean McConkey, and Mark and Sue Schneider plus countless volunteers who have helped us pass out shoes and make the Cheryl's Shoebox Summer Bash a huge success. After many years of dedicated service to the community, we discovered that we had outgrown our shoes and it grieves to say that we will may be shutting down Cheryl’s Shoebox as soon as our final projects are completed.

Due to our growth over the last 5 years, we were advised that we should seek legal counsel to determine what our responsibility is to the Mexican government since we were no longer just passing shoes out of our backpacks. After hiring an attorney, we were advised that due to the overwhelming support we received from all of you, that our little mom n’ pop charity would basically need to grow into a “full-time business” to continue our success.

This would require paying a substantial amount of attorney and filing fees plus monthly reporting, including accounting expenses, to the government in order to move to a large charity status. Our little labor of love was turning into a big business that would not have coincided with the original values of, Cheryl, our much beloved little-old-lady-who-passed-out-shoes.

We’ve been very proud of all that we have accomplished over the last several years and we owe it all to your generosity from the very beginning. Our first big shoe give away occured in Chimo, which is located about 20 minutes south of Yelapa. After a few years of providing shoes to the 3 schools in Chimo, the El Tuito government stepped in and began providing them with new school shoes and backpacks with school supplies each year. We then turned our efforts to the outlying communities of El Progreso and El Colorado by assisting some of their community groups with outfitting the children with school shoes, athletic shoes, backpacks filled with their yearly school supplies and various other educational material the groups needed to help the up and coming generation go forth and conquer the world. We have also been steady supporters of the Banderas Bay Women’s Shelter that provides assistance for abused women and children.

We have an extended list of accomplishments that range from hurricane relief, migrant worker assistance, the children with cancer center, and to many other groups and individuals that have contacted us for assistance. We encourage your continued support of these worthwhile organizations.

Besos and abrazos to all of you, far and wide, who have put smiles on the faces of many deserving people over the years. We at Cheryl’s Shoebox thank you from the top of our head to the bottom of our ‘soles’.

Cheryl's Shoebox is an organization with the 'sole' focus on collecting and distributing shoes to the children, families and individuals in need.

• Drop off a pair of shoes at one of our drop off locations listed here.


• Volunteer at one of our shoe distributions event. Please contact Vicki@cherylsshoebox.org for more information.


• Click here to donate a cash donation on PayPay through Casa Jojo Foundation. Casa JoJo Foundation is a 501(c)3 Non Profit and generously handles all PayPal donations made to Cheryl’s Shoebox.


• Checks can be mailed and made payable to:
  
  Casa Jojo Foundation
  Chase Bank
  National Bank by Mail
  P.O. Box 36520
  Louisville, KY 40233-6520
  
  Please specify Cheryl’s Shoebox on the memo line and add “For Deposit to account 898558226” on the back. Donations are tax deductible for US taxpayers.

Cheryl’s Shoebox operates as a non-profitable entity but does not have 501(c)3 status. If you want your donation to Cheryl’s Shoebox to be tax-deductibe (in the US only), please send your donations to Casa JoJo Foundation which is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that is based in the United States by PayPal or mailing a check.