Stevens Creek Elementary School pupils are putting their best foot forward to help out a worldwide recycling project.

They are collecting worn-out Crocs footwear and donating the shoes to SolesUnited, a recycled-footwear-donation program launched by Crocs Inc. The program is designed to provide new quality footwear to people in need around the globe.

David Stuart, the Stevens Creek art teacher who is coordinating the effort, said the pupils are enthusiastic about the project.

"We do emphasize recycling a lot, and I think that the idea that their own shoes could help people someplace else was really enticing," he said.

Mr. Stuart also liked the idea of participating in a community project that was not a competition for the children.

"I think that they should understand that they can help other people and the things that they sometimes think of as trash have real value," he said.

The school will ship the Crocs to a collection center. The donated shoes then will be sorted, cleaned, ground into new material and made into new shoes.

Fifth-grader Ansley Lowe lost one of her Crocs, so she donated the one she had left.

"I think Crocs are comfortable, and it's cool for people to recycle them for people that don't have shoes," she said.

Another fifth-grader, Megan Epperson, is going to try to donate a pair of her brother's Crocs.

"I think it's a pretty good idea to help kids out who don't have anything to protect their feet. They might not be the best shoes out there, but I think they're the best shoes to recycle," she said.

Ansley Gomez, a first-grader, donated three pairs of Crocs that she collected from neighbors.

"Some of my friends are home-schooled," she said, explaining why she went door-to-door to gather shoes.

The company hopes to distribute 2 million pairs of recycled shoes this year, said Shelley Forslund, a Crocs spokeswoman.

The company already has donated more than 1 million shoes worldwide.

This year the recycled shoes will be sent to Armenia, Cambodia, Chad, Darfur, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, the Philippines, Romania, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Stevens Creek is collecting Crocs until Tuesday.

Mr. Stuart said anyone in the community may donate shoes for the project.

For more information, log on to www.solesunited.org.