Barefoot at Heart (Script for Podcast for TOMS Shoes)

We may not think about how much shoes have impacted our lives. For many of us, picking out a pair of shoes and walking out the door is a daily routine. Blake Mycoskie felt differently. While participating on The Amazing Race Blake befriended young Argentinean children. He was concerned when he saw these children did not have any shoes protecting their feet. Blake wanted to help these children in anyway that he could. He decided to formulate TOMS Shoes in May 2006 with the intention that for every pair of shoes a customer buys, TOMS Shoes will give an underprivileged child a pair of shoes.

Blake’s idea may have been seen as extreme at the time, but less than a year later he returned to Argentina. For this trip he was accompanied by a group of TOMS employees and ten thousand pairs of shoes. Keeping true to his promise, the TOMS organization has sent over four hundred thousand shoes to needy children all over the world. These donated TOMS are delivered by Blake and fellow TOMS employees.

On April 8th of this year TOMS is sponsoring “A Day without Shoes” event. Colleges and universities around the country are promoting this advocacy day for individuals who do not own a pair of shoes. Individuals do not realize how much we rely on shoes for protection from scrapes, infections and bacteria. The 851 listed “A Day without Shoes” events are taking place to show how much shoes benefit our daily lives and health.

By participating in one of these walks or purchasing a pair of TOMS Shoes your action will benefit someone who cannot benefit themselves. We can each make a difference, one shoe… and one day at a time.