The TOMS Blog has moved! Visit http://www.TOMS.com/blog to stay updated on all the latest and greatest from TOMS. We will no longer be updating posts here.

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Categories: UncategorizedNo Comments.

I never imagined I’d say this, but I’m pretty excited about intestinal parasites.

They’re just one of the many things that can plague a child without shoes, but they’re a big one. Some pretty amazing stats, from the World Health Organization and some of our field partners:

• 400 million children are infected or at risk of being infected with “soil-transmitted helminths” – worms in the soil that can enter the body through the soles of bare feet.
• An additional 200 million people worldwide (adults and children) are infected with schistosomiasis, which comes from another type of worm – shoes can play a big prevention role with “schisto”, too.
• If a child has enough worms in her body, they will stunt her physical growth, make her more susceptible to other infections, and even cause permanent cognitive damage – that’s a lower IQ, just because of worms!
• Children with worms also suffer from lower school attendance.

I wanted to share a couple of emails I’ve received in the last week, from experts in public health and disease prevention. We’re now working with these organizations to get shoes to were they’re needed most.

“Shoes  to children can provide additional protection against worm infections…”

“(Shoes) will make a huge difference in children’s  burden of disease…”

For me, every day that we give is another day to learn just how instrumental shoes can be as building blocks to children being healthy and able to get an education. This thing we’re doing with something so simple – shoes – gets bigger and more exciting every day, and I am so grateful to be part of it!

Tags:   giving · parasites · shoe facts · soil-transmitted diseases · why we give · world health organization
Categories: The Giving SideNo Comments.

This past weekend was EPIC!!! We had an incredible turnout at the Active “10K in 2010” launch events.  We wanted to share a few photos with you from the night and hope that you can join us in over the course of the coming days, weeks, and months as we continue to progress towards achieving our goal of 10,000 live changed with our retailer Active in 2010.  To sign up to receive updates on the campaign please visit: www.iamONEof.com

See all the photos on Flickr, click here!

Tags:   10k · action sports · active · event · i am one of
Categories: Retailer DownloadNo Comments.

If you’ve been part of the One for One movement for a while, you saw us grow in to a new website about this time last year. Although we don’t plan to refresh every 12 months… we’re super excited to announce we’re updating once again.

So… SURPRISE! There’s a brand new TOMS.com waiting for you to explore, engage, interact, browse, SHOP, GIVE, post, upload, and share.

If you’re a subscriber of the current TOMS Blog, the first thing you need to know is we’re growin’ up and movin’ over to the TOMS website. You will no longer receive updates from the TOMS blog through this feed and posts will no longer come through at TOMSshoesBlog.com.

If you want to stay subscribed to the TOMS Blog (of course you do….), enter your email address here and we’ll sign you up for the new.

Enter Email:

You can also access the new blog here: http://www.TOMS.com/blog/blog-entries

Other new stuff you’re gonna love on the new site:
- “How We Wear Them”: a gallery of fan photos showing off personal style and proving any person can rock a pair of TOMS
- All your TOMS news in one place under “Blog & News”: official updates from HQ alongside the insider perspective you love hearing from the TOMS Blog
- Easier shopping! Ship to multiple people in one order. Share your wish list. We took your feedback to heart and built this site to make things easier and more enjoyable for you guys!

But we also kept a few things that you made you fall in love with TOMS from the start:
- We’re still givin’ one pair of new shoes to a child in need with every pair you purchase. One for One!
- We hold true to our Happiness Guarantee: if you aren’t completely satisfied with your order, our stellar customer service team will be happy to exchange it for you.

OK we’ll shut up now… GO CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE!
http://www.TOMS.com

Tags:   blog readers · gallery · how we wear them · New · new features · new website · online · shopping · subscirbe · TOMS website · TOMS.com
Categories: HQ UpdatesNo Comments.

Projects are moving full speed ahead at HQ this week and I now see that there is no such thing as a “slow day” at TOMS.  After an exciting weekend of adventures and exploring L.A. (intern Grace and I got a little lost in Korea-town and ended up in what might be the sketchiest, most amazing Korean BBQ restaurant in existence), there is no time for slacking before starting another busy week!

Yesterday, the Green Team (a group of eco-minded TOMS staff who work to make the office a “greener” place) hosted a potluck lunch, which was an awesome way to decompress amidst the craziness.  Having attempted potluck lunches before, I halfway expected most people to forget about it and pick up a bag of chips at the store on the way to work.  That was soooo not the case. Let me just say, not only are TOMS employees passionate, funny, and intelligent (not to mention totally hip and trendy), but these people can COOK! Several of the interns participated as well and impressed the office with our mad culinary skills.

I brought homemade spaghetti sauce, Grace made roasted beets, Julia brought a fruit platter, Alex baked some mac n’ cheese, David made arugula/feta pasta salad, and Amanda baked some delicious blondie brownies for dessert. Other interesting dishes included chicken stuffed with swiss and brocolli, veggie fried rice, baked brie, spicy zucchini, vegan oreo cupcakes, and oh yeah- the most amazing banana pudding I’ve ever tasted. And I’m from the South, so that’s saying something…. sorry Grandma!

Alex checking on her Mac n’ Cheese!

I am coming to realize that here at TOMS, people are constantly going above and beyond… even in the kitchen.

Amanda showing off her plate of homemade goodness!

Gotta remember to stir the spaghetti sauce!

Tags:   adventure · best company to work for · eco friendly · internship · potluck · Sustainable Soles · toms · TOMS HQ · TOMS interns
Categories: Intern Adventures3 Comments

This past Friday, an adorable collection of Youth TOMS launched in Neiman Marcus stores across the country. To celebrate, we brought in a ton of games to Neiman Marcus Fashion Island in Newport Beach for us the kids to play with! There were also sandboxes filled with different materials for the kids to feel what its like to be barefoot.

Our Chief Shoe Giver was swung by, once again showing his competitive spirit in air hockey, fooseball, and basketball.

Lots of snacks, lots of energy, cool new kicks, and precious little kids = a super successful event!

See more photos on the TOMS Facebook Fan Page and then check out the TOMS Youth collection in a Neiman’s near you!

Tags:   blake mycoskie · Chief Shoe Giver · kids helping kids · neim · Neiman Marcus · one for one · Youth Collection · youth TOMS
Categories: HQ UpdatesNo Comments.

Our friends Joel & Scott of the Pawnshop Kings have been my go-to guys for live music at TOMS events in SoCal since ‘08- they’ve played at more than 10 events!  We wanted to share some victory photos of Joel’s recent adventure planting trees while wearing his TOMS T-shirt.  We love the earth and hope you do to!

If you are in LA this week the Pawnshop Kings will be playing a show you won’t want to miss on March 3rd at the Roxy.  Check out the details of their concert on the flier below and make sure to check out some of their fresh tracks.

PawnShop Kings at The Roxy
Wednesday March 3, 2010 – 9pm
$10 advance tickets available at pawnshopkings@gmail.com
$11.50 at the door

The Roxy
9009 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tags:   live music · pawnshop kings · plant a tree · TOMS events · toms shoes
Categories: HQ UpdatesNo Comments.

This year, Southern California retailer Active has committed to helping 10,000 children in need through their campaign 10K in 2010.  

To give you a little history, Active has supported TOMS since 2007 when we were still in our infancy stage. Working out of Blake’s apartment, we heard of their passion of using retail stores as a platform to progress movements and change the way in which their customers interacted with brands.  We knew they’d be a great fit with the TOMS mission. Since then, we have brought together thousands of individuals to participate in events where art and music flow effortlessly together to create change. And this year we are banding together to pursue a campaign to change the lives of 10,000 children forever.

If you are in Southern California we hope that you can join us in supporting the Active 10K in 2010 campaign and become ONE of those individuals that will change the life of ONE of those children forever.   You guys are the ones who will breathe life into this movement and your voice that will spark the wave of individuals who will help us reach our goal.

Join us THIS Sunday for the launch of the 10K in 2010 campaign, RSVP on Facebook to find out which of your local stores will be hosting one of these launch events. Or sign up here to receive updates on how we are reaching our goal.

Date: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Active Santa Monica, Active Burbank, Active Mission Valley, Active Riverside, & Active Irvine Spectrum

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. –Isaac Newton

- Garett
read about Garett’s personal experience on a Shoe Drop here.

Tags:   10k in 2010 · active · active ride · Events · garett · retail · retailer
Categories: HQ UpdatesNo Comments.

As the 5^th week of our internship rolls around (FIFTH WEEK?! No way…), the office is buzzing and the work is flowing steadily.  We were promised on Day 1 that we would be doing work that mattered at TOMS, not just typical intern grunt work i.e. coffee runs and long hours at the copy machine.  And as the internship has continued to unfold, this promise has definitely proved to be true.  With several huge TOMS initiatives in the forefront, we have officially made the leap from “new interns” to marketers, graphic designers, event planners, online marketers, retail representatives, and more. What a rush!

[Read more →]

Tags:   blake mycoskie · HQ · intern · internship · TOMS HQ · toms shoes
Categories: Intern Adventures1 Comment

Garett is an enthusiastic part of our Retail Marketing team and you can always count on him for an exclamation of “AMAZING!!!!!!!!!”. Read his personal bio on our Author page.

I recently went on a Shoe Drop to South Africa and my eyes were opened to the impact that a pair of shoes makes on a child’s life.  I will never forget the day we arrived at a school where the HIV rate was close to 50% amongst the 1,000 children that attended the school. Many of these kids had absolutely nothing.  When we first arrived we unloaded all of the shoes from the truck and prepared to give the kids a pair of new shoes.

As the kids began flooding in, we started to give shoes to each individual child. You could hear their laughter and excitement as the kids were amazed by their new gifts.  There was one child that walked up to me, and looking down upon his feet, I was paralyzed by what I saw. They were covered in cuts, bruises, blisters, and warts.  As I sat there on my knees I looked up at his face and saw the excitement in his eyes.  As I reached with hand outstretched and as he came in for the most epic high five of my life, I said LETS DO THIS!

Trying to find the proper shoe to fit his foot was filled with the same joy you might experience when searching for the perfect gift for a loved one. We tried size 42, too big. Size 40 seemed too small, it had to be the 41. I said to him, “THIS IS IT!” His face lit up with joy in anticipation of his new gift. VICTORY!!! We found the right one. He then seemed as though he didn’t know what to do next…  “Should I run first, should I jump, go kick the soccer ball??….”

I cannot begin to explain the feeling of joy I felt with what happened next.  He turned to walk away, but then turned back and jumped into my arms, calling me his “dear friend.”  It was in that moment I realized that literally every pair makes a difference.  Every pair that is given truly makes an impact as there are now thousands of children who have experienced that same anticipation, joy, and excitement that I witnessed with that child in South Africa.

Although those moments have passed and I’ve been back at HQ for months now, those experiences are fueling a big project that will launch this weekend. Details to come soon, but know that every single child who receives a pair of shoes has a story like this one. And every single person who purchases a pair initiated that story… whether it’s 1 of 100, 1 of 1,000 or 1 of 10,000- each 1 has an impact.

Tags:   children · first pair of shoes · giving moment · retail marketing · Shoe Drop · South Africa
Categories: HQ Updates1 Comment