GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Here's an option when you head to Ober Gatlinburg. you can stop by a vending machine to buy some shoes on the way to the tram.
Shoes?
Yes. And your purchase benefits Friends of the Smokies.
The new vending machine that doesn't dispense drinks or movies. No, the yellow box at Ober Gatlinburg's Tramway Mall is billed as the World's Smallest Shoe Store. Measure your feet, put in a credit card, and pick up your shoes. It's one of three made by KEEN Footwear to give back to the community. One helps Yellowstone, one helps a forest in Michigan. And this one benefits the Friends of the Smokies.
"There's is not a better charity that benefits our national park than the Friends of the Smokies and it was very logical commitment for us to make," Margie Pearson with Ober Gatlinburg said.
When you purchase a pair for one hundred dollars - all of the profits go to Friends of the Smokies. That means when you expand your shoe wardrobe, the non-profit gets 50-bucks.
Friends of the Smokies promotes public awareness and provides volunteers for projects in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.