goodworkpeople

You can now watch The New Recruits online! 

This new PBS documentary follows the journey of three business students chosen to participate in the Acumen Fund Fellows Program, which sends social entrepreneurs to work with Acumen-funded social enterprises in Kenya, India, and Pakistan.  Start watching right now!

Could You Live One Day Without Shoes?

That’s the challenge that TOMS Shoes is asking you (or your community, your campus, your organization) to take on April 8.  Watch the video below to see why others took on the challenge last year, and why even more are taking it on this year.

I still have to figure out if the hotel where I’ll be at for a conference on April 8 has a “No Shoes, No Service” policy, but whether or not I can participate, I really like what TOMS is doing here.  I like it for the same reason I like Movember, the charity that raises money for men’s health by asking supporters to “grow, flow and show” their mustaches in the month of November.

In both cases, regular people transform themselves into walking billboards.  It’s not that going shoeless or growing a mustache makes a positive change—these things don’t have the same impact as volunteering, for example.  But what they do is start a conversation, and create an opportunity to raise awareness and educate among your peers.

So when someone asks, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”, you’ll be ready with the following facts:

• In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to school, clean water and to seek medical help.
• Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
• Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
• In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
• Podoconiosis is 100% preventable with basic foot hygiene and wearing shoes.

In a way, though, TOMS doesn’t even need this event to turn its customers into billboards.  The shoes themselves accomplish this by being so unlike any other product on the market that people often stop to comment on them.  If they’re not already, these facts should be plastered on the inside of the shoe box so that any time the shoe conversation comes, the wearer is prepared to educate.

Giving Gifts Just Got a Whole Lot Better

If your family is like mine, they’re thinking twice about the gifts they’re giving this holiday season.  Maybe they’re giving fewer gifts.  Maybe cheaper gifts.  Maybe gifts with a socially conscious twist.

I’ve given TOMS Shoes as birthday presents before, and I have to say, they make everyone feel good in the end.  And if you watch this video of one of their shoe drops, you’ll see why.  TOMS makes you believe that small actions can result in big change.

Most people assume “Tom” is the founder, but alas, the founder’s name is Blake.  The truth is that “TOMS Shoes” stands for “Tomorrow’s Shoes”.   It’s a fitting name, as TOMS is nothing if not a company looking toward the future.

When Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton recently honored TOMS Shoes with the Annual Corporate Excellence Award, she said:

“I want to thank Blake, John, Brad for reminding us that American businesses can do much more than sell goods and services. They can bring hope and optimism to communities abroad. They can inspire others to take risks to become entrepreneurs and grow their own businesses. They can really give people the sense that the private sector can make a difference, a lasting sustainable difference, and they can do well as well as doing good.”

If there’s a silver lining to the economic downturn, it’s that many of us are becoming more aware of our financial choices.  So when we choose a product, we want our investment to go farther—either it has to last longer or it has to make the world better.

We’re not always going to find these kinds of gifts for the holidays, but it sure is fun trying.