Ok, the man is good looking. (It had to be said.) His name is not Tom, it’s Blake Mycoskie and he’s really into shoes. A couple of years back, Blake was volunteering in a village in Argentina and noticed a lot of kids were without shoes; their feet were covered in scrapes and many of them had infections. On February 26th, 2006, Blake had an epiphany. He would start a shoe company where for every pair of shoes purchased, a child in need would be given a pair. Toms: Shoes for Tomorrow was born.

When Blake returned to the States, he hit the ground running. He took the traditional Argentine alpargata (formerly of the working class and currently hip with the owning class in Argentina) and redesigned it with an American audience in mind. With 13 employees and 8 interns, he launched Toms Shoes a short four months later. They are now sold in Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and Bloomingdales, along with tons of trendy boutiques throughout the country. They’ve been spotted on a long list of celebrities including a few of my personal favorites, Keira Knightly and Benicio Del Toro. In just two years, Blake and company have given over 60,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and South Africa. Next stop-the breathtaking country of Ethiopia!

If you love the Toms mission and want to get involved, they’d love to hear from you!