(Nashville, Tenn.) Thomas Nelson, Inc.’s Bible Group is entering into a long-term partnership with Christian humanitarian organization World Vision with a goal to generate a total financial contribution of more than $100,000 through March 2012 to help eradicate global and domestic poverty. World Vision will multiply Thomas Nelson’s contributions through grants and donated goods, resulting in over $200,000 to impact child health across the globe. This partnership will be supported with a charitable sales promotion in Spring of 2011 and marks the first of many initiatives planned as a part of Thomas Nelson Bibles’ new God’s Word in Action campaign to encourage believers to actively seek out ways to influence the world for Christ.

“In today’s economy every penny counts, but we feel strongly that this is an important commitment. We’re in a business of developing life-changing products, and it’s only fitting that we are actively involved in other life-changing initiatives,” says Thomas Nelson’s Senior Vice President & Bible Group Publisher Gary Davidson. In the past, Thomas Nelson has corporately supported World Vision’s efforts, so they are a natural choice for the launch of our God’s Word in Action campaign.”

The ABA’s Indie Next List is “drawn from bookseller-recommended favorite handsells, epitomizing the heart and soul of passionate bookselling.”

Southern Living touts Seitz’s skillful storytelling in Saving Cicadas in their December 2009 review of one of their “favorite picks” for Christmas gifts: “A road trip takes on special meaning for 8-year-old Janie. She, along with her sister and grandparents, joins her mother’s quest to find her absent father. Janie doesn’t uncover the answers she expects from the journey. But she—and all of the author’s well-drawn characters—does find out about redemption and miracles.”

On Wednesday, December 9, Seitz will be honored at a book launch celebration and cocktail party at the Florence Crittenton Home in her hometown of Charleston, SC.  She will sign copies of Saving Cicadas  in exchange for donations made directly to the Crittenton home, which has provided shelter and support in South Carolina for single mothers facing unplanned pregnancy since 1897.  Blue Bicycle Books will be on hand to sell copies of Seitz’s other award-winning novels.

Nicole Seitz is a South Carolina Lowcountry native.  She weaves enchanting tales of redemption filled with unforgettable characters and a refreshing Southern voice, including novels like The Spirit of Sweetgrass and A Hundred Years of Happiness (a 2009 Book Award nominee for Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance). A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism, she also holds a bachelor’s degree in illustration from Savannah College of Art & Design. Nicole shows her paintings—also featured as the covers of her books—in the Charleston, South Carolina area, where she owns a web design firm and lives with her husband and two small children.

Nashville, TN-June 15, 2009- Thomas Nelson, a leading provider of Bibles, products, and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes, announces that they will host a shoe drive and donation campaign, from Monday, June 8 through Monday, June 22, 2009, for the non-profit Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity dedicated to providing new shoes to people in need.

“Soles4Souls can use each and every one of these unused or “gently-worn” shoes to make a tangible difference in someone’s life,” said Michael Hyatt, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Nelson.  “Recently, all of our employees joined me and come barefoot to the office.  By going barefoot, we could better understand the daily challenges of the millions of people around the world with no shoes to wear and help raise awareness of this wonderful organization”  he adds.

“We are delighted that Thomas Nelson has created this program to help Soles4Souls give immediate aid to Americans in need during difficult times,” said Wayne Elsey, Founder & CEO of Soles4Souls.  Elsey adds that “the U.S. government estimates that there are 300 million children in the world who have never owned a pair of shoes.  With the help of Thomas Nelson’s generous employees, we can continue to help those in desperate need across the United States.”

As a special incentive to get serious about shoe donations, Thomas Nelson will provide four hours off with pay to the employee who donates the most pairs of shoes during the Shoe Drive and for households have more than one pair of feet, they will have two winners—one for single employees and one for an employee family.

In addition, in exchange for their shoes, Soles4Souls will provide each employee with a pair of Soles4Souls flip-flops to take home and wear at their leisure. Note: any employees that have a job requiring that they wear closed toe shoes will apply the rules and wear their normal shoes to perform their job duties.

Lastly, to raise awareness for the Thomas Nelson shoe drive and further educate them on the charity’s mission of “Changing the World, One Pair at a Time”, the Soles4Souls RV will be stop by their offices on Friday, June 19, 2009 as they make their way across country on their North American tour.

To read Michael Hyatt’s recent blog post about Soles4Souls, “The Gift of Shoes”, please visit http://tr.im/n6AK

To read Wayne Elsey’s recount of “Barefoot Week”, please visit http://www.wayneelsey.com/

During Barefoot Week, a yearly campaign encourage grass-roots participation, Soles4Souls distributes more than 50,000 pairs of new shoes in the United States while it also collects “gently worn” shoes from the general public during thousands of concurrent shoe drives at retailers, schools, churches and community centers.

Numerous celebrities support Barefoot Week in hopes of encouraging more participation with the charity’s programs Scarlett Johansson, who has donated 2000 pairs of new shoes from her own line of Reebok footwear, lends her name each year to help raise publicity about Barefoot Week. Other celebrities, such as Antawn Jamison, Jessica Simpson, Kellie Pickler, Luke Perry, Riddick Bowe, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Amy Grant and Chris Hope also voice their support for the weeklong series of events.

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About Soles4Souls
Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Soles4Souls has distributed more than 5 million pairs (currently donating one pair every 13 seconds) to people in over 125 countries, including Honduras, Uganda, Romania, and the United States.  The charity has been featured recently in Runner’s World and the Green Guide by National Geographic.  It has also appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, and hundreds of regional outlets around North America.  Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS; donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.

Contacts: Lindsey Nobles
Thomas Nelson
(615) 902-1109 o
(615) 476-5984 c
lnobles@thomasnelson.com   

Kim Dettwillerz
Soles4Souls
(615) 321-4073 o
(615) 330-5656 c
kimd@giveshoes.org