Christina SolidayEnglish 138T—Persuasive EssayAdvocating for TOM’s Day Without Shoes & One for One Shoe Program

Article to The Daily Collegian:

“TOMS Shoes: Instilling Empowerment & Hope to Those in Need”

Three. Third world countries represent about thirty percent of the world

when calculated in terms of poverty1. Two. Two out of every five people live without

shoes2. One. One man has dedicated his life to make these statistics change.

In 2006 Blake Mycoskie founded the company TOMS Shoes, a business model

built upon an innovative ‘one-for-one’ notion, in which for every pair of shoes

purchased, one pair of shoes is donated to help a person in need. Through this

emerging business concept, Mycoskie was able to build a sustainable for-profit

business model, independent of the reliance of donors.

Being from a privileged country, most of us have only been privy to one side

of the exchange. We see the shoes as an icon of fashion around campus and in store

windows downtown, but the true meaning of the shoes is much deeper than what

most of us see. There is a whole other side to the exchange, the silent and often

forgotten side, that I was able to witness this summer while on a medical mission

trip in Honduras.

I remember the encounter vividly—I was standing in my scrubs in the

doorway of our operating room for the week, a transformed classroom, with my

mask dangling at my neck and hair pulled back when the group of school children

1 http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world.htm#Poverty2 http://www.shoesforhumanity.org

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passed the rusty gates that separated our clinic from the street. Occasionally we

brought schools into clinic to provide the children with much-needed vitamins and

teach them how to brush their teeth. As the children entered the clinic, they

exchanged a polite greeting with the soldier patrolling the gate passing the man

with a respectful yet scared disposition. I was taking a quick break in between our

morning surgeries when the children arrived, simply taking in the atmosphere,

when I caught the eye of one of the young school children. We exchanged a quick

smile, before she looked away as her teacher was calling for her to join the group of

her classmates on the pavement in the center of our clinic. The child could not have

been more than six—thin as a rail, dressed in an old, matching uniform just like her

fellow classmates with the most respectful yet fragile demeanor. It was then that

one of my fellow volunteers called me over to the pavement where the children

were waiting to help teach them how to brush their teeth. My friend and I lined the

children up and sang them a song to teach them how to use the foreign object they

were holding—a toothbrush. It was only after they were lined up that I noticed that

as part of their uniform, all the children were wearing matching black TOMS. With

this realization, my experience with TOMS Shoes came full circle in a way as I

realized what exactly we, those who purchased the shoes, meant to them, those who

received the shoes—we meant hope, hope for today and for a better tomorrow.

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Through one compelling symbol, Mycoskie was able to bond two worlds and

remind those in need that they are not alone in their fight and give them strength

and hope for tomorrow. On their own, shoes have a limited ability to change a life,

but when combined with empowerment and strength, the shoes become life

changing and far more moving.

Since its beginning eight years ago, TOMS has now expanded into two other

industries that follow the same ‘one-for-one’ business model, as for every pair of

sunglasses and pound of coffee purchased, eye care and one gallon of water are

provided to someone in need. TOMS has also developed worldwide initiatives and

events to spread awareness for its cause, such as ‘One Day Without Shoes,’ a day in

which people pledge to ‘spend a day in their shoes’ (or lack thereof) and go barefoot

to spread awareness for those living without the most basic privilege of shoes. In the

words of Mycoskie himself, events like this were created because “sometimes we

forget what we have, and occasionally it’s important to remind ourselves3.”

Through one symbol, one man was able to bond two worlds and instill hope

in those living in third world countries—hope for today and for a better tomorrow.

My experience in Honduras this passed summer reminded me of the power a single

pair of shoes has to change someone’s life, not merely through the health and

protection it provides, but also through what it represents: hope and empowerment

for the future.

One symbol. Two worlds. What will it take for you to join the cause?

3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blake-mycoskie/one-day-without-shoes-its_b_523190.html

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