Tire Discounters hits ground running in Tenn.

Founded in 2006, Soles4Souls is a not-for-profit institution dedicated to fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty, according to its website. The organization advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners and then distributing the items directly to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities.

The Mount Juliet store is the third Nashville-area store opening his summer; the others are in Smyrna and Brentwood. The dealership plans to have 16 stores open by December 2015, creating more than 200 jobs.

Tire Discounters ran a month-long “reTire Your Kicks” promotion at its 90 locations to collect the shoes it's now donating. The dealership offered $25 off per tire for each pair of new or gently used shoes.

 Soles4Souls is committed to the highest standards of operating and governance, and holds a four-star rating with Charity Navigator.

Tire Discounters' plans for 16 stores in the Nashville market is an expansion on its earlier announcement last December, when it disclosed plans for a dozen stores in the Music City.

The dealership did not disclose what it's spending to open the stores, all of which are new constructions built on Tire Discounters' “store of the future” design concept.