Going One Day Without Shoes for TOMS

As part of Patch's Give 5 and AOL's 30-Day Service Challenge, I'm spending today barefoot to support TOMS.

What good will going barefoot all day do, you ask? Well, if I walk around without shoes, people will ask me why I don't have shoes on. Then I can tell them, it's to support TOMS, which provides shoes for children in developing countries who need them. In fact, if you buy a pair of TOMS shoes, they will donate another pair to a child who needs them (and some of those shoes are pretty cute!).

According to the TOMS website, the "One for One Movement" began in 2006, when "American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers."

Jen's Barefoot Blog

9 p.m. – Well, we did it. An entire day out and about without shoes. My feet are tired, my heels hurt and the bottoms of both feet itch like crazy. And, of course, my dogs are filthy. One Day Without Shoes for TOMS was enlightening, and I hope Patch succeed in helping spread the word about the project. And to wrap up the day, I may just have to order this pair of TOMS for myself!

7:30 p.m. – Wow, I have some seriously wimpy feet. Though I haven't actually injured my feet (yet), I can say that walking around on anything but carpet is pretty uncomfortable. And my feet are so dirty. So very, very dirty. I don't even want to think about what microscopic little life forms are crawling on the soles of my feet. Yuck!

5:10 p.m. – Getting some work done at Caribou near Walton and Livernois. My feet are freezing cold (that's normal), dirty (not normal) and sore (not normal unless I've been marching a lot, which I haven't had to do since I got out of the Army in 2006!). I'm so buying a pair of TOMS.

4 p.m. – My feet are starting to get sore. Not having arch support or cushioning is uncomfortable. It's hard to imagine walking around every day without shoes, even if it were warmer outside.

2 p.m. – Stopped at the Paint Creek Trail crossing at Dutton Road to shoot some video. I love the squishy feel of mud between my toes, except when it's 40 degrees outside. I'm also realizing how easy it would be to injure my feet out here. I think I need a pair of TOMS shoes, yeah?

1:30 p.m. – Chickened out and wore my flip flops into Best Buy. Still, a woman asked me, "Aren't your feet cold?" So I got to fill her in on TOMS One for One movement. She was excited about it!

12:20 p.m. – Heading to Best Buy for a new tripod so I can get even better video for Oakland Township Patch's new . No shirt, no shoes, no tripod? We'll see.

12:10 p.m. – Sitting in Starbucks, and nobody has asked why I'm barefoot when it's 40 degrees outside and flurrying (that's a word, right?).

noon – Stopped for coffee (and free WiFi) at Starbucks at Auburn and Rochester roads. Stepped out of the car... and into sticky coffee someone had thrown out next to their car. Awesome.

11:40 a.m. – I have a new-found appreciation for my car's floor heater.

11:30 a.m. – Dropped my son off at daycare and got a few weird looks from staff, though the center's assistant director was very interested in learning about TOMS (it's working, yay!!). The kids in his classroom all want to be barefoot now, too.

11:20 a.m. – Why is it snowing!?!?

11:00 a.m. – I've been working from home a bit this morning, but it's time to head out (barefoot) to take my son to daycare. Can I legally drive without shoes in Michigan?