buy some shoes + help a kid in poverty

I spent a few months in Botswana, Africa a few years ago and one of the things I immediately noticed was that none of the kids had shoes. The culture there is so awesome and the people are so great that none of them ever complained. We even played soccer together for hours and they're pretty good with no shoes. But I noticed they would walk for miles on some pretty sketch ground to get places and I remember thinking "That can't be good for these kids' feet. It would be so cool if they could have shoes."

Well, a guy named Blake probably had that same thought and he did something about it! He started a shoe company called TOMS SHOES. Just another entrepeneur starting a trendy shoe company? Not quite. For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One.

How cool is that?! Man, just thinking about it gets me all pumped up! That's called using your talents and desires for a greater good. I think God is smiling away every time somebody buys a pair of TOMS. So, I'm saving my dough for a pair of my own. (you may have noticed this company over to the right as it was one of the original links here on renown under "websites you should check out". TOMS = "sweet shoes with a cause")

The shoes are pimp... that's right, it's not just some cheap charity gig... these shoes are straight baller. You can find them at many of the really high end shoe boutiques across the country. Pretty trendy slip ons. And comfortable. Their mission is "to make life more comfortable." Check out all the styles at their website.

But here's the really cool part. In the first 6 months they sold 10,000 pairs of shoes. So then came the '06 shoe drop in Argentina. So cool - they gave away 10,000 pairs of shoes to kids who didn't have any shoes. Check out the video...

And in November they just went to South Africa and gave away 50,000 pairs of shoes to kids who needed them. In 2008 TOMS plans to give away 200k pairs of shoes to children in need around the world! That's so awesome.

All I have to say is this - the next time you need a pair of shoes, get a pair of TOMS... and a child living in poverty will get a pair too.