National Barefoot Day!

Tuesday, April 5, is National Barefoot Day! We’re going barefoot--how about you?
This is a simple day with a powerful message. There are thousands of people all over the world that have never had a pair of shoes while so many of us have several. Just take one day and walk in their footsteps. Go barefoot and experience life as they do.
Fact #1: Growing Up Without Shoes: In many developing countries, children must walk barefoot for miles to school, clean water and medical help.
Fact #2: Injury & Disease: Hundreds of millions of children are at risk of injury, infection and soil-transmitted diseases that most can’t afford to prevent and treat.
Fact #3: Education & Opportunity: Children who are healthy are more likely to be successful students, and access to education is a critical determinant of long-term success.
Fact #4: A Better Tomorrow: Healthy, educated children have a better chance of improving the future of their entire community.
In regions of Ethiopia, wearing shoes and practicing good hygiene can prevent podoconiosis, a disease that causes swelling of the feet and legs due to prolonged exposure to irritant soil. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital,

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina
and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.
Tom’s partners work with HIV positive and street children, giving shoes to protect them from the dangerous city streets littered with glass, metal, and even sewage.
As of September 2010, TOMS has given over one million pairs of new shoes
to children in need through Giving Partners around the world.

SEE YOU ON THE STREET--IN YOUR BARE FEET!