10. A simple way to take the first step…
imaris: @TOMSshoes To own my first pair of TOMS

9. Education enables incredible change…
Jeremy: Work for TOMS? Go on a shoe drop? Educate more people about microfinance and the hard working poor.

8. Confirmed: TOMS has amazing supporters of the One for One movement. We love stop motion!
Michelle: I’m making a stop motion video for TOMS shoes to show to my friends, family and the students at my school to spread the One for One movement! I don’t want to give too much away because it’s a surprise but it’s going to be AWESOME.

7. Family is important to us too...
Lisa LaPose Dulara: peace and the health of my sons.

6. Travel safe, Ashton! Glad to hear TOMS will make the journey with you…

Ashton: My dreams for 2010 are to move to Japan in July and become involved in suicide awareness and prevention.. sporting the TOMS along the way!

5. I second that, let’s all be more passionate about our work to make a difference…
Adrien: In 2010 I promise to continue being passionate about my job working on promoting social responsibility and sustainable development issues here in Chile and the rest of South America…
Happy New Year – peace and love to all.

4. A Shoe Drop experience really moves you…
Nate E: What will I do to help change the world?
1. Continue to use my experience from the South Africa shoe+board drop as motivation to be involved in projects that help others (currently- skateboard ministry, and feeding and clothing the homeless occasionly)
2. Tell all my friends and family about TOMS and all the good that the company does. Also how real it is….
3. Continue to buy more Toms for me, friends, and family
4. Hopefully go on a mission trip to help underprivleged children
5. Put a video up on YouTube (youtube.com/user/nateeckhart) that is about the South Africa shoe drop which will have the footage that I took from the trip. Hopefully this will show others what it’s like in another country.
6. With my wife, continue to sponsor a child in India…
7. Etc, Etc, Etc

3. We should all be thankful to have dedicated, compassionate people taking care of us right here at home…
Lorin: 1) hospice volunteering (its amazing) 2) beginning my career as a registered nurse (finally gradutaing – hooray!) at the county hospital serving primarily those who cannot afford health care and doing my best to ensure that everyone receives the compitent, comassionate, & equal care they are entitiled to as human beings

2. So simple, yet can have such a positive impact on people…
Andrea: Writing a letter to one person each week. Every time I receive a letter I smile (inside and out!) and get that awesome “someone loves me” feeling. Maybe letters for others will do the same.

1. We couldn’t be more excited to have a dedicated partner join us in fighting podo…
Citizen Effect: Working with TOMS and Citizen Philanthropists to alleviate Podo in Ethiopia!

Good luck to everyone in achieving their goals and dreams in 2010. Let’s stick to it!

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10. HQ is a big sound stage ware-house turned office. 7,500 square feet of awesomeness kept warm by little space heaters in the winter, and cooled only by desk fans in the summer.

9. We’re resourceful: one wall is made entirely out of boxes of old TOMS.

8. Most of our retailer’s window displays are made right in our make-shift wood-shop: the alley way outside our front door.

7. Two sets of brothers work here: Justin and Jordan Farr and Blake and Tyler Mycoskie.

The J.Farr bros and the Mycoskie bros

6. Our office manager, Travis, and his dad built all of our “cubicles”. Its really a family affair here at TOMS!

5. We require FUN on the last Friday of every month. A TOMS tradition since the beginning, Fun Fridays are a time for us to get together and make gingerbread houses, carve pumpkins, have potlucks and sing karaoke.

4. Our kitchen is stocked with dishes and silverware to reduce our waste, we take recycling seriously, and many of us bike to work.

3. With so much production equipment and crew in the office for the AT&T commercial shoot in February, a bunch of us employees were happy to relocate our work days to a sunnier location…

2. The audio system was installed this past year and you can always catch something unique on the loud speakers: Today, for example, is reggae… but we’ve also had the RENT soundtrack, Motown, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird, Mariah Carey, Brazilian Samba… It’s also great for impromptu karaoke.

Spin those tunes, DJ!

1. Our CEO’s desk isn’t in a corner office: its actually in the most high traffic area. Front and center, right next to customer service.

We’re just about at the finale of our ten Top 10 lists, but the next one NEEDS YOU. After reflecting on such an amazing 2009, we’re excited about what 2010 has in store… So what will you do in the next twelve months to change the world? We’re highlighting our 10 favorite ideas here on the blog this week, so COMMENT ON THIS POST! Tell us your ideas, your plans, why, how, when… inspire us!

Visit the TOMS website too!

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10. Simple, yet chic… from artists Sandra & Crockett at a Nordstrom event in San Francisco.

9. Had to be from ‘09 (when we launched the Cordones!): even TOMS with laces get styled. From Sandra & Crockett again.

8. SoCal summer TOMS, courtesy of good TOMS friend and artist Theo Hetherington at a Thalia event.

7. From a campus event at Granite Bay High School. Love the colors!

6. HOW CLEVER! Haven’t seen any like this yet… felt! From a U of A event…

5. Once we learned about this intern alumni’s master creative ability, she became go-to girl for something special. Embroidery and fabric on canvas by Vanessa Hernandez.

4. A special Style Your Sole event at a special needs school in Austin, TX. How precious

3. It was difficult to not flood this list with more of Vanessa’s creations… but we limited ourselves to two… Koi Fish on canvas TOMS by Ms. Hernandez.

2. A pair for Retail Marketing Manager Garett, by artist Andy de Leon. Look at that detail!

1. A collection of super detailed beautiful shoes from a retail event at The Loop. AMAZING!

Have you customized your TOMS? Want to make our Style Your Sole favorites next round (who says we only get to do this once a year?!)? Post your photos on the TOMS Wall or on our Facebook Page!

We’re having a blast with these Top 10 lists and hope you are too. Only a couple left… see ya tomorrow.

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On a side note, this was the most difficult set to rank. How is one awesome Shoe Drop moment better than another awesome Shoe Drop moment? So please, take the ranking with a grain of salt. They’re all number 1’s in our book.

10. Argentina, April 2009: Have you ever seen a happier face?

9. South Africa, October 2009: Boys will be boys.

Photo credit: Marc Falkenstien

8. Argentina, January 2009: Chief Shoe Giver is a pro at hand placing TOMS.

7. South Africa, October 2009: a Zulu dancer gives his new TOMS the ultimate test.

Photo credit: Marc Falkenstien

6. New Orleans, April 2009: Ana Maria, who coordinates Shoe Drops for TOMS, shares a big smile with a student in New Orleans.

Photo credit: Cambria Harkey Photography

5. New Orleans, April 2009: New Orleans students jump high with their custom TOMS.

Photo credit: Cambria Harkey Photography

4. South Africa, October 2009: The proper way to conclude a Shoe Drop? PLAY!

3. New Orleans, August 2009: A TOMS intern makes new friends in NOLA.

Photo credit: Allie Dominguez

2. Ethiopia, October 2009: Whether you’re in the States or all the way in Africa, one thing remains: kids are silly!

Photo credit: Kwaku Alston

1. Beautiful girls in South Africa pose and show us how proud they are of their new TOMS in October 2009.

Photo credit: Marc Falkenstien

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Here’s a small collection of these photos, courtesy of our Facebook fans…

Circlllessss!!!

Ankles and TOMS!!!!

Post your TOMS circles, TOMS + ankles, or other favorite TOMS photos on the TOMS website and on our Facebook page! We love ‘em all

One of our favorite things is coming up this week on our “Top Ten Top Ten” lists: custom TOMS from Style Your Sole events. Check back soon!

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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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10. From a Facebook Fan, upcycle your TOMS flags!

9. TOMS fans don’t settle for posters and handouts, they find clever ways to spread the movement (especially on One Day Without Shoes!).

Also from a Facebook Fan.

8. YUM! From Facebook, “TOMS are awesome, my sister just made me a special birthday cake of a TOMS shoe.”

7. One for One inspires all types of songs, from goofy campfire jam sessions to beautiful acoustic productions (and more… just keep reading…). This song was written by Jeremiah, who also joined TOMS in October on a Shoe Drop.

6. TOMS fans creatively share the One for One movement through their hobbies, like this self-titled TOMS Cycling Team.

*not officially sponsored by TOMS

The list continues with owls and raps… 5. HOW CLEVER. The cardboard inserts that come in TOMS boxes up-cycled to adorable owl ornaments, via a Twitter follower.

4. More festive Holiday ideas: a TOMS fan gets a custom TOMS stocking to hang over the mantle, via Facebook.

3. A winning moment: Nate’s killer YouTube video won him a spot on the TOMS + Element Shoe + Board Drop this past October.

2. Beautiful artwork from student Taylor Grimes- found this one on Google Alerts and it definitely made it around our inboxes.

1. Needs no introduction….

Happy 2010!!

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In celebration of 300,000 awesome people who are listening to TOMS tweets, we had to include a Top 10 list of our favorite 140-character mesages from the past 365 days.

10. We always knew TOMS were good for dancing…

9. Even the young ones can spot good style!

8. We saw a lot of these in April and May, and it put smiles on our faces every time. 

7. I spot TOMS….

6. Love at first sight.

5. In reference to a TOMS piece on CBS.

4. Good friend of TOMS, Kevin Rose, rocks a new pair of TOMS.

3. I got a phone call in the middle of the night about this one, “Guess. Who. Just. Tweeted. About. TOMS…”

2. One for One was represented on many couple’s special days in ‘09. Such a beautiful thing…

1. Live coverage via twitpics from Element at the October Shoe + Board Drop in Durban, South Africa.

But we’re still accepting honorable mentions… If TOMS has impacted your life this year or you have a 140-character story that will make us laugh, jump over to Twitter and post @TOMSshoes.

Happy almost New Year- be safe tonight!

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