The Clarks Companies Celebrates Success of "Soul of Africa" Initiative.

Soul of Africa benefits South African community through sustainability

NEWTON, Mass. -- The Clarks Companies, one of the oldest and most respected shoe companies in the world, underscores its commitment to securing funds for South Africa's AIDS orphans as Soul of Africa celebrates its fourth anniversary. Clarks' Soul of Africa philanthropic initiative embraces the concept of sustainable development and raises money to assist organizations that house, feed and educate AIDS orphans through the sale of moccasin shoes. These shoes are hand stitched by unemployed women from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, who are not only earning a living but also learning valuable new skills.

"When I first visited South Africa in 2003, I was amazed at the horrendous cycle of poverty the AIDS pandemic inflicted on the communities of the KwaZulu-Natal province, where almost 35 percent of the population is infected," said Lance Clark, sixth generation of the family behind The Clarks Companies. "We found an opportunity to go a step further than monetary donations with our Soul of Africa shoes. In creating Soul of Africa, our goal was to not only give the profits back to the community, but also create sustainable employment for the local women, allowing them to earn an income, learn new skills and take an active role in the revitalization of their community. We have seen tremendous results."

Since 2003, Soul of Africa has raised nearly $1 million for children orphaned by AIDS. This funding has supported Soul of Africa initiatives such as the building of community drop-in centers, which provide meals for families, repairing a dilapidated orphanage and working with Rotary International to create Child Care Development Centers (CCDC) to build classrooms, supply educational equipment, fencing, toilets, food, training and assisting with access to healthcare.

Currently, almost 70 women, known as "grannies" and "aunties" who take care of up to 10 biologically-related and unrelated orphaned children, create roughly 300 pairs of Soul of Africa shoes each day. As demand for the shoes increases, more money is deposited into the Soul of Africa Charitable Trust and the cycle continues. With approximately 6,500 shoes hand-crafted monthly, the deposit can reach almost $50,000 each month. For every pair of shoes sold, nearly $10 goes to the support of South African children orphaned due to AIDS.

Additional projects benefiting from Soul of Africa include:

* Khulani Children's Shelter - a children's home that houses AIDS orphans ages nine-17 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

* Shepherd's Keep - a 24-hour care facility for abandoned babies from birth to six months. Three infants are abandoned every 48 hours in KwaZulu-Natal, largely due to poverty, unemployment and AIDS

* The Rotary Granny Project - a program that upgrades the homes of grandmothers supporting their grandchildren orphaned by AIDS

The Soul of Africa line is available at Clarks stores nationwide and online at www.clarksusa.com. To learn more about the Soul of Africa initiative, please visit www.soulofafrica.org.za.

About Clarks North America

Since 1825 Clarks has been a pioneer in comfort footwear and since then has repeatedly revolutionized the footwear industry with its ongoing product innovations. That long-standing heritage of innovation and quality still guides Clarks and The Clarks Companies, N.A. (CCNA).

Clarks, Indigo, Privo and Bostonian are divisions of The Clarks Companies, North America (CCNA). Based in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, CCNA is a wholly owned subsidiary of C&J Clark, Limited of Somerset, England.