Giving shoes right now in Rwanda!
The parents are out of town. Blake is off inspiring students nightly while telling the TOMS story on college campuses, and our 2nd in command, Candice, departed this weekend to Rwanda.
Candice has been our "Shoe Glue" since she came on a few years ago and spends a lot of time in the field talking to partners and bringing back moving stories about the communities we have an impact on every day.
Her latest adventure takes her to Rwanda with the Bridge2Rwanda team to give shoes to vulnerable children in a region home to 100,000 genocide orphans, where children are at risk of soil-transmitted diseases. Early this year, we connected with a young fellow named Kris Allen - you may have seen him win that kinda popular show American Idol? Not only was he pumped about the One for One mission (and an owner of several pairs of TOMS), he wanted to bring Bridge2Rwanda and TOMS together.
From her emails since she's departed, we've learned Candice doesn't agree well with airplane food, "Thank You Liz for the insane Kale Chips that are feeding me 10 hours into travel!! (Airplane food and I are not friends...)", she's keeping up on her documentaries, "Just watched a friend’s yet-released documentary on malaria. Lots for us to learn. Best part? We can stop it by 2015! You and me!! Stay tuned." and their bus driver in Rwanda has an undeniable affection for Kenny Rogers, "Our driver LOVES Kenny Rogers. We're rocking out to The Gambler."
Candice on a South Africa Shoe Drop in '07
We're eager to hear C's updates and think it’s time you guys get to meet her and hear her stories too. Stay tuned on Twitter (@TOMSshoes) for updates on the snacks she's eating, the music she's listening to, and of course - the amazing children she meets and the stories they share when Candice hands them a sturdy pair of brand new shoes.
About Bridge2Rwanda
Bridge2Rwanda is a charity that supports the development of a “think tank” to encourage and facilitate research and advocacy for enterprise solutions to poverty in Africa, connects and encourages partnerships with Rwandan universities and local African entrepreneurs, and establishes training programs to teach promising young Rwandans to communicate using English and computers.
Trouble for participating in One Day Without Shoes
I do not really know who to write this to, but I am hoping that somehow, it gets to Blake.
I just wanted to say that today, numerous people in my school and I participated in the Day Without Shoes to raise awareness, but all who were seen by teachers were sent to the principal's office. After explaining to the principal and to teachers who sent them there that not wearing shoes today is a statement to raise awareness for children who do not have shoes, being a good cause, kids were threatened with detention and suspension until they put their shoes back on. Some were immediately put into the in school suspension room and were forced to stay there for the rest of the day. All this for going barefoot for one day. I just think that it is beyond ridiculous that so many kids got in trouble for trying to participate in a good cause. By the end of the day, many had put their shoes back on because of the fear of getting in trouble. At my school, they offer something called exemptions which is something that gets you out of taking a final, something us students hold very dear to us. Freshman get one a semester, Sophomores two, Juniors three, and Seniors get to exempt three the first semester and all finals the second semester. When a student gets written up, or gets suspended, the student therefor loses his or her exemptions, so many today lost their exemptions for participating. It is very harsh that something students deserve and earn gets taken away for participating in a good cause that benefits others.
I was wondering if somehow, Blake Mycoskie could call or e-mail the superintendent of my school district to petition the punishments given to kids for participating. Though it is something we chose to do, we did not expect to get in trouble for participating in the day without shoes.
I go to Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas in the school district of Katy ISD. My superintendents name is Alton Frailey.
Thankyou so much for helping with this situation.
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[...] is a blog post from Tom’s that quickly explains how Kris came to be involved in this project. The [...]
This is great! Can you
This is great! Can you clarify/elaborate? You mention that Kris Allen wanted to bring Bridge2Rwanda and TOMS together. So, was this collaboration his idea?
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[...] Read the whole post here. [...]
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