Thursday, April 17, 2008

Soles with Soul

It’s always a pleasure to attend a fund-raiser for a “company of conscience” – and TOMS is just that. Founded just two years ago, the company has been serving children living in poverty by donating a pair of shoes to a child in need for every shoe that is purchased. Derived from “Shoes for Tomorrow,” TOMS has already given away more than 58,000 pairs of shoes and last November the band, HANSON, joined them on their second shoe drop, delivering a whopping 50,000 pairs to children in South Africa.

This year, TOMS plans to give away 100,000 pairs of shoes to needy children in Ethiopia and even more to children in the United States.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ8c5QWsCRQ


TOMS is the brainchild of Blake Mycoskie, known by his peers and friends as the “Chief Shoe-Giver.”

As for the actual shoe, TOMS are modeled after alpartagas, which are made by the natives of Argentina. The shoe is made with a light canvas and is offered in a wide variety of styles. TOMS Shoes has won the “People’s Design Award,” an award sponsored by Target and awarded to the company with the best design as voted by the people.

Keeping in-step with their charitable grassroots efforts, TOMS has a “Style Your Sole” fundraiser across the country at 45 universities, sponsored by Hope For Africa. This gives students the opportunity to design their own shoes with their unique style & flair.

So... if you have soul, support TOMS -- whose “sole” purpose is to give.

VIEW ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT TOMS SHOES

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

TOMS is indeed on the forefront of cause capitalism. Their whole business model is built on giving back.

It was a pleasure to meet so many socially engaged individuals companies at the TOMS event.