Do Something Tom's

Last night as I was briefly watching television, I saw a commercial for AT&T Wireless. They featured one of the head guys from Tom's Shoes. The point of the commercial was that because Tom's provides shoes to children in need around the world, they needed a reliable network... "with more bars in more places." This commercial reminded me of a direct mailing I received several years ago from Save the Children. In the envelope was a photo of a child's foot with a guinea worm crawling out. It was a horribly graphic image and one that has stayed with me up to now. Tom's makes canvas shoes and sells them for around $44; for each pair they sell, they also provide a pair to a child in need. So really, it's like $22 per pair. Not bad. I encourage everyone to check out their site.

I've not bought a pair of Tom's yet, but perhaps this summer I'll find some! They're introducing new styles/prints in a couple of weeks. I spoke to them on the phone last week since the styles I liked online were sold out in my size.

People right here in our own communities need shoes too. I recently finished reading Same Kind of Different As Me. Wow. It was an AMAZING book. It's about two men, Ron Hall, a multimillion dollar art dealer, and Denver Moore, a former slave. Set in the 60's, this book is a true account of how two men's lives became intertwined through one woman. It is one of the most inspiration books I've read ever and it's easily on my top 5 list! The authors speak at events around the country and help raise money for homeless shelters.

We may not have the guinea worm here in the states, but that doesn't mean our residents don't deserve shoes too. This week for Do Something Monday, I'm going to see what groups are signed up to volunteer at our shelter and try to help during the next rotation. I'm also going to stalk the Tom's site to see when their new shoes are available. What are you going to do?