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!

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Today is a huge day at HQ. We are having 32 sales reps from Canada come into the office, so interns and employees alike are scrambling to get everything in perfect order before our guests arrive! Not to mention the boss-man Blake is back in the office after several weeks on a speaking tour, so everyone is on their toes! Alt Sales intern Dianna has been busy making gift baskets and center pieces while Retail and Giving interns Grace and Amanda are hustling retail displays out the door before the mail man arrives. Creative intern Carly and Travis the office manager are sprucing up some of the walls as well.  All of the interns have been working together to plan what we will do for TOMS 4^th Birthday coming up on May 5^th.  We have so many exciting ideas in the works and we also have some cool stuff planned for our TOMS family across the world! We present to our marketing directors on Tuesday, so stay tuned… and wish us luck!

Beware to all rushing around HQ today ! Wet paint… and busy interns!

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From left to right: Amanda, Heather, Julia, Jessie, Dianna, Sarah, Mike, Grace, Alex, Carly, David and our intern coordinator Caroline in front

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When I started working at TOMS (when the company was only about 4 weeks old), the first thing that I said to our fearless leader, Blake, was “Whole Foods is a company that we must partner with as they will not only understand what we are doing, but they will want to be a part of it as well.”

Eighteen months later, after countless hours of hard work, we launched our first exclusive collection of Eco-Friendly/Vegan shoes with Whole Foods Market. Since then, we have continued to explore the world of environmentally friendly materials, along with launching a shoe for those who practice a vegan lifestyle.

Brad sporting his favorite Cordones

In just under two years, through the Whole Foods partnership and the purchases of caring customers, we have given just over 37,240 pairs of new shoes to children in need.

It is amazing the needs that these shoes have met and continue to meet around the world. In areas of deep poverty, shoes can play a role that goes far beyond comfort, including access to education and prevention of disease (bare feet make children susceptible to a wide range of diseases and parasites). It has truly blown me away how the Whole Foods Market team members have rallied around these needs, becoming some of the most dedicated, excited and passionate advocates for the One for One mission that I have come across in my almost four years here at TOMS.

A GIVE window made out of TOMS at a Whole Foods Market location

We are honored and excited to partner with such a great company, who is not only working to help bring us better quality food for what we put IN our bodies, but also for what we put ON our bodies.

So, live fully, love others unconditionally, and if you happen to run into your neighborhood Whole Foods Market for some locally sourced tomatoes, basil or rainbow chard, make sure to stop by the Whole Body department to become part of the One for One movement.

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On my journey from Georgia I made a stop at the Grand Canyon.  Wearing my TOMS in the snow, no doubt!

After only a few days on the job, I can tell that working at TOMS is going to be intense.  But then again, so is anything that’s actually worthwhile.  We walked into the large warehouse that houses TOMS HQ in Santa Monica last Thursday for the first time, nervous, excited, and not sure what to expect.  We had come from far and wide; Connecticut, Georgia, Arizona, Texas, California, Kansas, and oh yeah… Germany.  I think it is safe to say the TOMS mission is inspiring people all over the globe!  Our first day on the job was spent getting “oriented.” Our awesome intern coordinator, Caroline, showed us the ropes and introduced us to several of the employees.  We chilled in a conference room for most of the day as each manager came back to introduce themselves and explain their position at TOMS.    It was surreal.  I think it is safe to say that all of us were on cloud nine… were we REALLY here? Was that ACTUALLY Blake Mycoskie that just walked by?

Some of the interns gathering for the first time at TOMS HQ!

Hard at work already in the Online department “office.” One wall is made completely out of old TOMS shoe boxes!

We got to sleep in a little on Friday and were told to report to the office at 10:30 to be introduced to the ENTIRE staff.  I’m not gonna lie… I was pretty nervous.  I knew we were going to have to stand in front of everyone and introduce ourselves and would have about ten seconds to convince everyone that we were funny and cool.  However, as soon as Caroline led us into the room with all the other TOMS employees, any previous jitters immediately disappeared.  Everyone was hanging around in a circle and gave us a round of applause when we walked in.  And standing in front wearing bright green sweatpants and clapping loudest of all was the man himself, Blake– the brains behind the whole operation.  He was so cool and welcomed us all to the family.  Because TOMS is just that, a family, and we were now a part of it.

Our new boss!

And then, of course, we still had to stand in front of the 60+ staff and introduce ourselves, but everyone was super nice and at least pretended to laugh at our jokes.  After our meeting, we got right to work, and I’ve got to say it was quite a rush.  Working in an environment like the one at TOMS makes you actually WANT to work, because you know you’re doing it for a reason bigger than yourself, bigger than a paycheck.

Our intern coordinator, Caroline, introduces new intern Grace to the TOMS staff

Well, that is all for now, my friends.  I hope you all will enjoy keeping up with the adventures we are about to embark on at TOMS.  Stay tuned…

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10. Blake gets silly while encouraging Facebook users to support Friends of TOMS buy purchasing a special “TOMS Facebook Gift” in April.

9. At the TOMS Holiday karaoke party, he delivered a surprise performance as “Garth Brooks”.

8. Blake spoke at many college campuses, hoping to inspire and motivate a new generation of entreprenuers with the One for One story.

7. He let his competitive side show with Ping Pong challenges at the launch of TOMS in Neiman Marcus.

6. He traveled to South Africa in October to see the Element collab come full circle.

5. He represented TOMS at the NOLA Shoe Drop for Good Morning America.

Click on the image to visit ABC and watch the segment.

4. He gave a heartfelt speech when accepting the Award for Corporate Excellence.

Click on the image to visit Blake’s blog and read his speech.

3. Blake and TOMS were featured on CNBC’s The Entrepreneurs.

Watch the segment on the TOMS website: click here!

2. He became “that guy on that AT&T commercial”.

A still from the AT&T commercial that first aired in April.

1. When he returned from Ethiopia, he got us pumped about the work TOMS is doing there.

CLICK HERE to read Blake’s inspirational letter.

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When I was told that we were nominated for this award, I was filled with one emotion and that was humility.  As I looked over the list of past winners, all companies that we all know and respect, I could not believe that I would be going to Washington and possibly standing up here today.

TOMS started as a spontaneous desire to give shoes to kids who really needed them.  Faced with this need for the first time in Argentina, I did not want to simply start a charity, for I worried about sustainability.  I mean yes I could have asked friends and family for donations and that would have worked for a year or two, but what happens when we have something like Hurricane Katrina and my donors are supporting the needs of the victims, or what happens when we find ourselves in a tough economic downturn? I could not imagine going to the kids we had been supporting and saying, “Sorry, no shoes this year.” So I started TOMS as a for profit business based on a simple model.  We started in my apartment with 3 interns, one who runs much of the operations today, and our efforts were not fueled with investment capital but a deep passion to help those original kids, and I have found in the last 3 years that passion and compassion can build a business.

With so many health problems in the world, many people ask me “Why shoes?”. I did not choose shoes, they chose me, but I have learned a lot about shoes and, more importantly, their importance in world health and the life changing vehicle they can be to people who are at risk for foot diseases such as hook worm or podoconiosis.  Most of the foot diseases that cause destruction to lives are preventable with shoes and basic hygiene, and I plan on spending my life preventing these diseases so that these beautiful people can live the full life we each deserve.

The original TOMS shoe was based on the Argentine alpargata, mostly worn by farmers and “common people” as my friends in Argentina say… Now, every time I go back to Argentina, my friends down there and I get a good laugh when I show them the pictures of our humble shoe on celebrities on the red carpet, runways of fashion shows, and being “guest designed” by the great Ralph Lauren for his Rugby collection. But besides laughing at the irony of it , all my Argentine partners get a deep feeling of pride knowing that it is their shoe that is helping put hundreds of thousands of shoes on children’s feet in countries like Haiti, Ethiopia, South Africa, and even here in the USA.

Of all the people who have been part of this amazing journey in Argentina, there is one that stands far above them all. In fact, the reason I was so excited that we were nominated for this award was that I knew if we won, I would have the opportunity to recognize one of the most amazing young men I have ever met, and that is Alejo Nitti. He is my friend, our original Chief Shoe Maker, and as they say in Argentina, my “companero”.  He has been with me since the very first day.  Without his commitment to TOMS and this idea I had on the farm 3 years ago, I truly do not know where we would be. You can see why this award is so special to me- it not only represents business being done between two countries that benefits others, but it is proof that when two people come together to do something special, regardless of their citizenship or language, something magical, even historical, can happen and that is what the past 3 years of my life has been: a magical journey with one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. And while I accept this award on behalf of all the amazing TOMS employees in the USA and around the world,  I will be giving it to the first believer in TOMS, my companero down in Argentina, Alejo Nitti.

While this journey might have started with Alejo’s belief in me, there are many people who have come into my life the past few years who have truly made this dream come true and really they should be standing up here accepting this award.  I speak of my staff, or as I call them, my TOMS family.  We are now 60 plus people and each person in our LA warehouse, that we call an office, is not only a deeply passionate individual, but they are some of the most talented and positive people I have ever met. Without their willingness to pour their heart into this movement every day, I would not be standing up here. If you all are reading this right now, know that I love each of you very much and you inspire me every day more than you know.

For those of you who know me, you know that I spend most of my days in far off places around the world and spreading the TOMS story on college campuses across the country, so I am rarely in the office. Many people have asked me how it is possible to run my business from so far away and of course we all know one of the answers thanks to my great friends at AT&T and the beautiful commercial they created this year about TOMS and my life, but the truth is it would never be possible to do what I do without a very special person in my life. This person is here with me today, and her name is Candice Wolfswinkel. I met Candice at a Nordstrom when I was selling shoes out of my Airstream trailer and a few months later convinced her to volunteer for TOMS for 9 months in planning our South Africa Shoe Drop. It did not matter that we could not afford to pay Candice in those early days- she gave us everything she had and once we were able to start paying her, she accepted a position as my right hand and has been leading the culture of our company ever since.  Candice, I love you deeply and feel so blessed you are in my life, and I thank you on behalf of the 500,000 kids that will be getting shoes this year as a result of your tireless effort and service.

It is very hard to believe but all the people I have mentioned so far have only been a part of the last 4 years of my life and, as you can see, they have affected me deeply and positively, but there is much more to this story than the past 4 years. In fact, the only reason I was confident enough to set out on this journey in the first place was the result of the unconditional support and love my parents, Mike and Pam,  and my brother Tyler and sister Paige have given me for the past 33 years. I truly believe that I can do anything because of them and I know no matter how hard I fall, and I will fall, they will be there to help dust me off and set me on my way again. I love you all very much and thank you for believing in me.

Lastly, I want to thank a few other people celebrating this special day with me.  My grandfather Bernie, my many friends and colleagues who have flown in from all over the country to be here, Secretary Clinton for presenting me with this incredible honor, Undersecretary Hormats, Assistant Secretary Borg, and Former US Ambassador to Argentina Tony Wayne who nominated us for this ACE award.

So I leave you all with the a few words that a very special friend recently gave to me,

“May your days be filled with love and light.”

thank you

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U.S. companies are nominated by Chiefs of Mission worldwide and the winners are chosen by a selection committee comprised of senior Department of State and other governmental officials and chaired by the Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs. Nominations are based upon companies’ achievements using criteria such as responsible environmental protection and practices, innovative programs with measurable results and contribution to local science & technology.

“I am honored that TOMS Shoes is the recipient of such an esteemed and important accolade,” said Mycoskie. “Since the start of this company, we have strived to create a dialogue with the communities in which we operate while contributing to the greater good around the world. I am humbled by this great recognition and will continue encouraging and engaging in responsible business practices.”

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back i will go
soon will be back
witch’s rock i will remember
ollie’s point will i return?

thoughts are unfolding
plan for 2010 in the flow
give me a few more hours of thinking before i go

but with a smile
and love and light i give
for the sunsets filled my tank
and for this i have you, God, and everyone to thank.

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Exclusive TOMS styles are now available at Neiman Marcus locations around the country!

Read more on the TOMS website.

Select styles available at TOMSshoes.com.

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