Philanthropy Shoes

The philanthropy event world is giving everyone a break this weekend  (since it’s Father’s Day weekend, I suppose), so I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you about one of the coolest companies I’ve come across in a long time.  Yes, I know… this is supposed to be a philanthropy event blog, but this is a company with a major philanthropic focus… and that’s totally worthy of a mention.

Tom’s Shoes
Ok, so this organization may not be local, but it’s global, and that’s cool enough for me to write about.  If you haven’t heard about Tom’s Shoes (or seen the cutie-pie founder and Chief Shoe Giver, Blake Mycoskie, in a recent Verizon Wireless commercial), I suggest you get thee to their website immediately (www.tomsshoes.com).

Founded in 2006 in Venice, CA, Tom’s Shoes is a for-profit shoe manufacturer with an incredible philanthropic focus.  Get this… for every single pair of shoes sold, Tom’s donates a pair to a child in need.  In case you missed that, I’ll repeat: that’s one pair of shoes donated for EVERY SINGLE pair sold!

On top of the really cool “One for One” concept, Tom’s has a really neat way of doing things in general.  From outstanding internship opportunities, “vagabond tours” (college campus tours) and “shoe drops” (where folks can actually visit the villages when shoes are donated), Tom’s has it going on as far as innovative, grassroots efforts are concerned.  Not to mention the fact that their efforts are curing and preventing the insanely common occurrence of foot injuries and disease in children.  Oh, and their efforts are allowing kids to go to school where shoes are required.

Now here’s the part where I encourage you to buy a pair.  I’ll admit… the shoes are probably a little quirky for a lot of you out there, but I have my own pair, as do Liv Tyler, Keira Knightley, Brad Pitt, and Scarlett Johansson to name a few.  I highly encourage you to get a pair for yourself (and a little barefoot kid in Argentina).  Visit Tom’s online at www.tomsshoes.com for more information, to watch a shoe drop and to purchase a pair.

Be sure to check in weekly for a rundown of upcoming events. Feel free to send comments and event suggestions to philanthroparty@gmail.com.