One Day Without Shoes.

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I went barefoot today.

To some many, that’s a gross concept. It’s acceptable around the house (I get home and the shoes come OFF…this is how I live) but stepping out into the world, running errands, at the office…? That’s the stuff of my mom’s worst germophobic nightmare. Understandable, to be sure, but that’s kind of the point.

For thousands of children across the globe, this is a reality. And they’re not walking barefoot in department stores or parking lots, they’re walking around in the natural landscape of typically undeveloped towns with little to no form of sanitation control. This exposes them to injury, disease, and other (sometimes life-threatening) infections. One statistic from the Asian Development Bank claims that in the Philippines, thousands people live in a landfill where residents trample broken glass, syringes, and other debris every day. I love bare feet, but there’s no WAY I’d be ok with going shoeless in that scenario, let alone allow my children!

One Day Without Shoes was created by TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie to further raise awareness about this issue, as well as promote a solution. For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS provides a new pair of shoes for a child in need. TOMS (the shoes) have become pretty popular in recent culture, and that’s awesome, but many people forget that there is a global cause behind the trend.

So today, I went barefoot. I walked around the office, went to the post office on my lunch break, ran to the grocery store, stopped at a gas station…a ho-hum normal day, sans shoes. I got plenty of looks, and even a few questions (thank you strangers for having the guts to ask!). It was cool to be able to share the method behind what seems like madness, and even though I could tell some were a bit weirded out, I was glad for the opportunity to spread the word.  

You can find more information about One Day Without Shoes, as well as promotional stuff  (even though it’s the end of the day…my fault for posting it so late…oops) here. I didn’t get a chance to make a shirt before today but I’ll probably still make one, just because. This is just one day out of 365, but as with any cause, the need for awareness doesn’t end here. 

I hope you’re having a great Tuesday! Did you happen to spot any shoe-less ODWS supporters? Would you ever participate in a campaign like this?