ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES!

On April 5th the Glik’s home office and their friends/family gathered under the arch to celebrate TOMS shoes event One Day Without Shoes. Games were played, yummy pizza was eaten, and a human pyramid was even made. Most importantly, 10% of total sales in the Missouri/ Illinois area was donated to a local, non-for-profit charter school called Lift for Life. Lift for Life offers a high school level classes and a gym to underprivileged students in the city of St. Louis. The giant check we handed them was for $1,282! After the picnic under the arch we got a tour of the school and learned all about what they do for their students. Lift for Life provides a top-notch education, a home away from home, and an escape from the dangerous street life most of the kids would fall into.

We also all learned what it felt like, for a several hours, to not have the privilege of wearing shoes. For me, personally, walking around my high school without shoes was embarrassing. People judged me left and right, and teachers shook their heads. I was told to go home and put shoes on, as I’m sure many children are told when they arrive at school without them. They probably don’t come back, since they don’t have any shoes to go home and get. I, on the other hand, go home to a closet full of them. Walking into the bathroom was disgusting, I constantly stubbed my toes on desks, and at one point had to pull a loose staple out of my foot. The walk to the arch was on a pebble covered path and with every step, my best friend and I howled in pain. We felt such a wave of relief to finally pull our shoes back on, something I never thought I would be grateful for.

One Day Without Shoes raised the worlds awareness to the millions of children who don’t own shoes, how it feels to go a day without them, and what we as shoe owners can do in order to help those in need.