When Malaysia changed its regulations on the colour of standard school shoes from white to black for schools nationwide, it resulted in an oversupply of white canvas shoes at retailers nationwide.
Not wanting to see the shoes go to waste, home improvement retailer MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd has donated these unused white school shoes to school children and giving new life to these shoes through an upcycling initiative “Walk with Style”.
The MR DIY CSR initiative, a collaboration with Soroptimist International Damansara (SID), saw more than 750 school children from Selangor, Perak, Kedah, and Kuala Lumpur turned the white shoes into shiny works of art with various designs.
The children were from The Edufun Learning Centre, Ipoh, Perak; Sekolah Kebangsaan Tunku Bendahara, Kodiang, Kedah; Rumah Aman Sungai Buloh, Selangor; Myanmar Refugee Community Learning Center (MRCLC); and Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Pinggiran Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
Volunteers from MR DIY Cares team and SID guided and helped the participants to upcycle the shoes and convert them into striking designs using markers, paints, drawing brushes, accessories and glitter provided by MR DIY.
In total, more than 750 pairs of white school shoes were upcycled to fashionable school shoes with unique, individualised designs.
“MR DIY’s ethos is to be a sustainable business that has a positive impact on the communities we operate in, and part of this effort includes playing a role in educating Malaysians on the need to reuse, reduce, recycle and upcycle. It is one of the ways we can build a sustainable society.
“Initiatives such as “Walk with Style” embed an understanding of the principles of sustainability in our younger generation, while keeping the learning fun, engaging and creative. It’s also very much in line with our ambition to build a stronger do-it-yourself (DIY) culture amongst Malaysians,” said a spokesperson from MR DIY.
MR DIY said its outreach programmes have been effective through excellent support and partnerships with various parties, including the Walk with Style with SID, and encourages more corporates to work with organizations such as SID to positively impact communities.
