Monday, April 4, 2011

good deeds ~ one day without shoes


tomorrow, april 5, toms shoes is challenging you {and anyone you can finagle into joining you}, to participate in one day without shoes.  every day millions of children go barefoot around the world, trekking long miles, and suffering injuries and infections which could be avoided with a simple pair of shoes. many of these children don't have access to
shoes, however, something which we greatly take for granted in the developed world.  


but wait, there's hope! toms shoes is working hard to bring free shoes to children of the world, and you can help!  in addition to purchasing toms shoes for yourself {which will provide one free pair of shoes to a child in need}, you can also join in the challenge to spend the entire day tomorrow {or however long you can, even 15 minute counts!} experiencing your daily routine... barefoot {gasp!}.

now i know what you're thinking - oh the horrors of running around town barefoot {trust me, i know how hard this sounds. my ocd is freaking out about this.}! i mean, what if you step on something sharp, get really dirty, or catch worms?  but i think that's exactly the point here.  people in impoverished areas have these exact same worries, only they can't do anything about it.

so why go without shoes?:

in addition to starting a conversation with co-workers, classmates, and neighbors, i think we here in the blogging community have an extra advantage of getting the word out to hundreds of people at a time.  so i highly 
encourage you to not only join the challenge, but to also share your experience 
sometime later in the week on your own blogs.  
if i can do it {panic attacks and all}, you can too!

15 comments:

  1. This is such a fantastic idea! I go barefoot all the time but that's just for dance. To do in another setting? now that is definitely a conversation starter. What a great way to make a difference. Thank you!

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  2. I love your Good Deeds posts. : )

    I'd probably do this if I were actually going anywhere tomorrow and would spark conversation because now my family wouldn't notice a difference at all, ha!

    Would love to hear others' stories, though!

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  3. I love toms shoes so much. I think I'll remove my own pair for a bit of my day tomorrow...maybe in the sandbox on the roof playground. I would do longer, but the NYC subway is just a tad too scary/yucky for me ;)

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  4. I love that Toms Shoes is bringing awareness to this issue and I hope a lot of people participate. I'm going to try, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it -- I can just foresee myself freaking out too much. But definitely, when I'm home tomorrow, I'll be barefoot, just as a reminder to me.

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  5. What an awesome idea and a great way to spread awareness! Yet another awesome idea Kim.

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  6. I think I'd get in touble if I came to work without shoes on, but I'm loving the message behind this movement! You always have the coolest things to share Kim!

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  7. um, this is such a good cause and a brilliant challenge!

    suddenly i like toms shoes a WHOLE LOT MORE than i used to! :)

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  8. When I went to Fiji, as a teenager, I gave some money to a group of kids so that they could buy shoes (also gave them candy and food)...because they had to walk over fields and dirt to get to school. So I think this is a really, really worthy cause.

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  9. I'm with drollgirl...liking Tom's much more now as well! Where do you find these things? This is an amazing effort for an amazing cause!
    I'll be jogging with a personal training client in the morning, so I'll go shoe-less after. That really makes me think, though. I have the option, so many people don't. That alone really just sunk in. It's amazing how powerful this can be!

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  10. What a great idea! :)

    And you're very brave to tackle this with your OCD and all. jeesh!

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  11. This is such a good idea! That is so brave of you to do it :)
    I took off my shoes right now!

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  12. my dentist used to not wear shoes! But i think it was because he was kind of a weirdo . i love toms! especially tiny toms :)

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  13. I would if I weren't meeting with a dean and major donors tomorrow! If my lavender painted toes are the reason we lose out on funding, my boss would never forgive me.

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  14. Great idea - I will defo try this at home - I love wearing no shoes, but as it's raining here atm, think I will be hard pushed outside ;O) Can't wait to hear more Kimbirdy.
    A xx

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  15. great challenge. i think i will try and do this once I get home.

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