DeAndre Levy, linebacker for the Detroit Lions reaches out to a few charities by making some sacrifices.
Levy has decided to put his sneaker collection up for sale through eBay, where all proceeds will be donated to Detroit Workers, Builders and Empowerment Plan, and another undecided charity.
The first two charities are for the benefit of Detroit’s homeless population, and employing citizens in need.
Levy explains on his Instagram that’s he’s earned his sneakers, also given away over a hundred pairs of sneakers.
AOL also had the chance to interview Levy,
Tell us why you’ve decided to auction off your entire collection, and how long has this collection been in the making?
The reasons why I invested time, money and energy into acquiring 150 pairs of shoes at one point, no longer aligns with the human I want to be. There’s more important things that I can direct that towards.It’s been a conscious shift the past two years or so. It took a lot more years to get these shoes — back to about high school. I was just placing too much value on things that didn’t matter. In this particular case, sneakers.
What first made you realize that your passion for collection was dying?
Seeing guys stand around in amazement looking at a pair of $1000 shoes a teammate just ordered in multiple colors or the adoration of a sneaker collection posted on Instagram seemed silly to me. But I couldn’t say anything — I had a closet stacked full of boxes myself. I have shoes that I haven’t even worn. Why do I need another pair… and another pair?I felt guilty seeing so many people in need especially here in Detroit. My money and energy could be better served than for my bragging rights about a pair of shoes. “Oh you ain’t got these!” … “You never seen these before!”
I literally was driving things to storage when I moved last year and had the back of my truck stacked with about 40 boxes of shoes. I stopped at a red light where two homeless men were asking for money. One had no shoes, the other had torn apart makeshift shoes. Both clearly in need of things much more important than a pair of shoes, but the irony of it weighed on me.
What’s your favorite shoe of all time? The one you’ll have the hardest time letting go?
My favorite pair are the Vegas Sole Collector Dunk released in 2006, I think. They were like a piece of art. Haha, I spent most of my Pell Grant to get them a few years later after finally finding a pair. Probably will be the hardest pair to let go.
It’s a great gesture, kudos to DeAndre Levy.
It also looks like Levy has a great selection for those interested in buying to choose from.