One person buys, and one person is helped. This idea has turned into a global movement, and this is how TOMS works today. TOMS sells casual and stylish shoes, bags, eyewear, and soon, coffee with the vision of helping people around the globe and preserving our precious planet.
The “One for One” model started with a man named Blake Mycoskie who traveled to Argentina in 2006 and saw the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes. His solution to the problem was simple yet revolutionary. TOMS was established as a for-profit business that’s sustainable and not reliant on donations. To date, TOMS has donated over 35 million pairs of shoes to children in need in 70 countries. Its retail stores in the Philippines are present in TOMS Store (SM Megamall), Nothing But H2O, The Give Project, Adora, Rustan’s, and Shoe Salon.
Corporate Responsibility: The “One for One” Model
When you buy a pair of TOMS shoes, you help improve the health, education, and well-being of a child. TOMS partners with humanitarian organizations or their so-called “giving partners” to support them with shoes.
When you buy a pair of TOMS glasses, you help restore sigh through prescription glasses, medical treatment, and sight-saving surgeries of individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
When you buy a TOMS bag, you help provide training for skilled birth attendants and distribute birth kits containing items that aid women safely in delivering babies.
In this season of gift giving, TOMS held the Give Fair last November 14, 2015, Saturday, at The Foundry in Westgate Center, Alabang. I was invited to the event and I tagged my mom along so we could both learn more about TOMS and experience something fun.
This annual holiday event aimed to share the joy of giving to people of all ages, especially children. There may be plenty of gifts out there that children can get excited about, but a whole day filled with games, food, craft giveaways, and musical performances by Keiko Necesario, Clara Benin, and Rizza Cabrera must surely be well appreciated. TOMS Team offered up some good cheer, and families were given the chance to bond together. 🙂
Registration
Design Your Cookie
Balloon Pop
Foosball
Jenga
Tic Tac Toe
Photo Booth
Crafts Giveaway for Kids
Food Stalls
Live Performances
TOMS Bingo
Wrap Up
Across the world, thousands of children need shoes to go to school, thousands of people need eyesight restoration, and thousands of people are in need to water, but unfortunately, not all people living in the planet have access to these resources. While there’s no single solution to address these problems, TOMS founders and employees take the stand to define strategies and interventions to provide help in the best way they know how.
The good thing is that TOMS’ global movement involves everyone, from businesses to individuals, to make progress in the target impoverished communities and multiply the warm buzz of giving. I’m grateful for the opportunity this year to celebrate giving in TOMS Give Fair. Thanks, Aubrey, for the invite! 🙂
I got my own pair of TOMS classic black canvas shoes. Yay! With this, I’ve become part of a movement that believes that we can change the world with our choices. 🙂 Visit their website to know more about their story.
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