Weekend Without Shoes: Day 1

Most children in developing countries grow up without shoes, this leads to cuts on their feet that get infected from all the dirt and grime they walk through. Most schools won't allow students to attend without a pair of shoes. That means these kids don't get any proper education whatsoever.

Tom's Shoes has always been about a cause. That cause; give a pair of shoes to every child without. For every pair of Tom's Shoes you buy, be it from a store or online, they will give a pair to a child who needs shoes.

Last year, Tom's sponsored an event called "One Day Without Shoes". This happened in a few cities, people walked to work barefoot, delivery drivers did their routes without shoes and so on. This year, it happened nationwide. Over 2,000 events for One Day Without Shoes were registered, I'm sure more happened. I went to today's walk down St. George Boulevard, and it was amazing. So many people came out to support the cause.

In the following few blog posts, I'll chronicle my weekend without shoes. My good friend Shorty Huff gave me the idea, and I decided to give just a peak at what kids are suffering through in 3rd-world countries. My mom had the good camera, took it with her on a trip to Salt Lake so these were taken with my phone camera.

Today started fine. Went outside to play with the dogs, it was nice remembering the feel of grass on bare feet.


Driving to the walk. Just to prove I kept my shoes off. Got some looks at the gas station.


Getting the signs ready. Kinda pointless to do this if nobody knows what it's for...


On the walk. This photo doesn't do it justice. There were quite a few people there.


Feet after the walk. Pretty gross. Gives you a perspective for sure. Not being able to wash your feet after a full day of this, the tiniest scratch could easily lead to infection and possibly death from that.


My feet. Super gross. I think I stepped in gum...


This kid pulled up on his scooter and handed us his sandals. What a stud.


Blister on my right foot. I have one just as bad on my left.


Washing my feet afterward. I need to keep them clean, I can't risk my health with this. I just sat soaking my feet for a while. They hurt.


Day two coming tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how blisters progress...

One love.