Got in the donation box: Sneakers sold for $67,000 for homeless shelter

A homeless shelter in Portland, United States, experienced a miracle just days before Christmas after auctioning off rare sneakers found in their box for donations at the beginning of the year, raking in more than US$50,800 (CA$67,390).

The gold Nike Air Jordan 3 sneakers were donated to the Portland Rescue Mission shelter last April and were found in a dumpster under other donations. The Washington Post Friday.

Similar to the shoes worn by American director Spike Lee in 2019.

Not knowing what to do with them, and not knowing if they were real, Erin Holcomb, the shelter's staff director, finally decided to authenticate them at a specialty shoe store, which confirmed their value.

“I never imagined they were real shoes,” he told US media.

The shoes were eventually auctioned at Sotheby's, with an estimated value of $15,000 to $20,000 US. They finally rose to US$50,800 on Monday.

“I'm very happy to be able to use them to serve more people,” said Ms. Holcomb, who plans to use the money to help people experiencing homelessness.

However, the generous donor remained a secret, assured director Spike Lee The Washington Post That they are not his sneakers.