Have you ever felt what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes? Well, with TOMS, although you may not be able to walk in their shoes literally, you can at least help to donate a pair.
With every pair of shoes you buy from TOMS shoes, they have agreed to donate a pair to a child in need through their program One for One. TOMS“utilitarianistic” mantra transforms its customers into benefactors, which also allows the charitable company to grow a sustainable business without depending on fundraising for support.
Why shoes, one may ask? Why not donate a certain amount of dollars with every pair of shoes sold? The answer is simple. Because most children in developing countries grow up sans shoes, they are constantly at risk of contacting soil-transmitted diseases, infecting their feet from cuts and sores, and not having the privilege to attend school because shoes are a required part of the uniform.
Blake Mycoskie came up with the idea to create TOMS when he befriended children in Argentina and discovered that they had no shoes to protect their feet back in 2006. After he got his company off its feet (no pun intended), the new owner/founder of TOMS finally returned to Argentina with a large group of family, friends, and staff and donated over 10,000 pairs of shoes to those children who inspired the meaning behind this philanthropic company.
As of April 2010, nearly four years after its creation, TOMS has given over 600,000 pairs of shoes to children in need. For such a small company to have such vast and altruistic intentions, well, those are some big “shoes” to fill; which TOMS has done with ease...Have YOU helped save the world today?
For more information, visit: toms.com
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