A Day Without Shoes-April 10th 2012

A few months ago I saw a special on TV about the founder of TOMS Shoes-Blake Mycoskie. Mycoskie is a young guy who is an avid world traveler. During one of his trips abroad to Argentina he realized that the children had no shoes to protect their feet. Out of his compassion to help others he created TOMS Shoes. For every pair of shoes that customers purchase, TOMS donates one pair of shoes to a child in need.

I purchased Mycoskie's book Start Something That Matters over the Christmas holiday. I read it in one day! It was the most inspiring book I have read in a long time. If you need some positivity in your life, you need to get this book!

Why Shoes? Here is why Mycoskie chose to help children with shoes courtesy of the TOMS website:

"Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:

•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 diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive 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."

Every year TOMS leads a challenge to help bring awareness to the fact that there are children out there that don't own proper footwear. The challenge is called, "One Day Without Shoes". The goal of the challenge is to educate people on the health risks to children (injury, exposure to diseases, etc.) and help improve the welfare of children in underprivileged countries.

This year's "One Day Without Shoes" is taking place on April 10th, 2012.The organization that registers on on the One Day Without Shoes website and collects the most pledges wins some awesome prizes. So, have 50 friends and want to make a difference go to: http://onedaywithoutshoes.com/challenge and sign up today.