TOMS Style Your Sole Day

Style Your Sole Lafayette Day Saturday, April 9th
As a companion event to TOMS "One Day Without Shoes", Pack & Paddle will be hosting an official TOMS "Style Your Sole" Day. On Saturday, April 9th, local Lafayette artists will be at Pack & Paddle to turn your new pair of TOMS shoes into a wearable piece of art. A $10 donation to the artist helps support them for the day, and your purchase of a pair of TOMS shoes gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need. Pack & Paddle will have special TOMS shoes on hand for adults and kids that are perfect for your artist to style for you.

About the TOMS One for One Movement
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.

Why Shoes?
Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:

•A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.

•Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.

•Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.

Why We Give
Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk.

* Growing Up Barefoot. In many developing countries, children must walk barefoot for miles to school, clean water and medical help.

* Injury and Disease. Hundreds of millions of children are at risk of injury, infection, and soil-transmitted diseases that most can’t afford to prevent and treat.

* Education and Opportunity. Children who are healthy are more likely to be successful students, and access to education is a critical determinant of long-term success.

* A Better Tomorrow. A village of healthy, educated children have a better chance of improving the future of their entire community.

Where TOMS Currently Gives:
Argentina
Honduras
South Africa
Armenia
Lesotho
Swaziland
Burundi
Malawi
Uganda
Cambodia
Mali
United States
China
Mongolia
Zambia
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Ethiopia
Niger
Guatemala
Peru
Haiti
Rwanda