Few things have a closer connection or meaning than travel and experience. It opens minds and hearts. Mark Twain famously said that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
When TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie traveled to Argentina in 2006, and saw the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes, he decided to do something. But just like today’s travelers who are not satisfied with cookie-cutter travel experiences and search for more meaningful experiences that can imprint their lives, Mycoskie also wanted to find his unique way of providing support to children in need. As an entrepreneur, he wanted to build on his business skills and created TOMS, the company of “tomorrow’s shoes,” that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair of shoes for a child in need. Founded in Venice, California, the simple message of TOMS: to improve lives through business has brought people together and rallied a diverse community around the shared goal of building a better tomorrow. One for One®
Ever since then, TOMS customers have purchased TOMS, taken them on trips and thereby created opportunities for millions of people in need around the world. This TOMS tribe stands for those who are unabashedly themselves and accept others just as they are. TOMS is a shoe for people optimistic enough to believe they can make a difference. And here is their achievement:
Over 75 million new pairs of shoes given.
Over 50,000 people with restored sight.
Over 450,000 weeks of safe water provided.
Over 17,000 people with solar light for one year.
These numbers were reached not just through their customer’s purchases, but through the tireless work of the TOMS Giving Partners. TOMS Giving Partners are nonprofit, humanitarian organizations or social enterprises that they work with in the field. They have deep experience in the regions they serve and expertise in poverty alleviation and international development.
TOMS currently works with more than ninety Giving Partners, including some of the leading nonprofit organizations around the world. Top global partners currently include BRAC, Children International, Crisis Text Line, Helen Keller International, Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, Seva, and Water For People. TOMS works closely with their Giving Partners to determine how giving can add the most value to both the community and the individual beneficiary. TOMS Giving
Partners work in areas focused on education, health, relief, safe water and sanitation, economic opportunity, and empowerment.
Check out TOMS at the Berlin Travel Festival to meet the new Venice Collection, a bold colourful tribute to our roots, and become part of the movement.
Images Courtesy of TOMS
