TOMS Shoes

"With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One."

In 2006, after seeing Argentine children had no shoes to protect their feet, Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every purchased pair of shoes with a pair for a child in need. Later that same year, Blake returned to Argentina with over 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by Toms customers.

Why shoes? Children in develolping countries grow up barefoot and are at risk. Here's what TOMS says:

• A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diesases, and the long-term physical and congnitive harm they cause.
• Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
• Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.

As of August 2010, TOMS Shoes has given over 1 million pairs of shoes to children in need around the world.

In honor of the children around the world, join in One Day without Shoes Today.