The shiny, gold Nike sneakers had been exhausting to overlook within the donation pile at a shelter in Portland, Oregon, earlier this yr.
They had been Air Jordan 3s, measurement 12 1/2, and one among just some customized pairs that had been made for filmmaker Spike Lee. Now they’re up for auction, the place they might fetch $20,000 to learn the shelter.
The sneakers had been anonymously dropped within the donation chute on the Portland Rescue Mission within the spring. A previously homeless man within the mission’s long-term shelter program discovered them whereas sorting by donations and introduced them to the eye of the employees, based on a weblog put up on the mission’s web site this week.
Nike designer Tinker Hatfield designed the kicks in 2019 for Lee, who wore his pair to the Academy Awards that year when he accepted an Oscar for his “BlacKkKlansmen” screenplay. The donated sneakers weren’t Lee’s private pair, however had been amongst just a few made for him to present out to his internal circle, the Portland Rescue Mission mentioned.
Hatfield visited the shelter and authenticated the sneakers. He additionally signed a alternative field and donated different Nike merchandise. The corporate relies in close by Beaverton, Oregon.
“I’m thrilled the sneakers ended up right here,” Hatfield mentioned in a press release shared by the Portland Rescue Mission. “It’s a contented ending to a extremely nice undertaking.”
The sneakers are on public sale at Sotheby’s till Monday, and will fetch $15,000 to $20,000, based on the public sale home. Sotheby’s is waiving its payment, so the entire proceeds will profit the shelter, which has helped folks fighting homelessness, starvation and habit since 1949.
The id of whoever donated the sneakers stays a thriller.