Los Angeles, CA, April 15, 2011: Taylor All-Stars, flip-flops, or fancy Monolo Blahniks. No matter what you like to wear on your feet could you imagine them disappearing and having to go barefoot? One local company decided to find out by throwing off their shoes and kicking up their heels all for a good cause.
On April 5, AMS Fulfillment of Valencia joined hundreds of thousands of people from across the nation who went “bare-footin’” to help raise awareness of the impact a simple pair of shoes can bring to a child’s life.
CEO Ken Wiseman and his staff participated in One Day Without Shoes, an annual event sponsored by Santa Monica based footwear designer Toms Shoes.
Wiseman, who took off his own pair of Toms to be a part of the experience, says “It’s not comfortable.”
Toms Shoes’ founder Blake Mycoskie hopes to deliver the message that most children in developing countries grow up barefoot. That the leading cause of disease in these regions is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Children, whether at play or doing chores are at risk.
Additionally, kids can often not attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. Without education Mycoskie believes they won’t have the opportunity to realize their potential.
AMS Fulfillment is the service organization that does shoe fulfillment, warehousing and shipping Toms Shoes. Wiseman says that makes the message personal, “We’re in tune with Blake’s mission and he’s so genuine it just draws you in.”
To get a foothold on stomping out this problem, Toms shoes makes a deal with the buying public. For every pair of Toms shoes purchased they will give a pair to a child in need, one for one.
Wiseman laughs as he admits, “My wife has supported an entire village herself. She has 40 pair.”
The shoe fulfillment crew at AMS Fulfillment put together a YouTube photo montage of their “Human Flower” to share all the fun they had for a good cause:
