Toms Shoes

This is a great story you're about to read. And yet it's also achingly sad. And I'll give you a hint – the sad thing isn't the most obvious thing. Read on.

Blake Mycoskie just visited Lighthouse Ministries in Lakeland recently. Big deal, who's he? Blake founded a company called Toms Shoes (www.toms.com) in 2006 after visiting Argentina while a contestant on the Amazing Race. He noticed that children there often lacked shoes so he decided to do something about it. He started a shoe company. Pretty awesome right? Not yet, hang on.

Seriously, how many shoe companies are out there already? A ton. But Blake didn't want to be like everyone else. Blake first of all decided to design his shoes patterned after a traditional Argentinian shoe that was a very basic flat shoe. He of course put his own spin on them so they have great, funky designs that appeal to hipsters and celebs alike. Oh, and Blake also decided to give away one pair of shoes for every pair that was bought. Pretty simple concept. You buy a pair of cool shoes for about 50 bucks and someone who needs a pair of shoes gets a free pair.

Surely you're now thinking, “Oh please, what a bleeding heart liberal! Guy probably makes no money and he's just in it for the publicity...”

Nope.

Toms Shoes is in fact not a non-profit. They make money. And they do good. They serve. They have a heart. And because of that heart, they've given away more than 400,000 pairs of shoes. They also don't have to advertise because everyone that buys a pair of Toms Shoes like to talk about their shoes.

So where's the sad part? Is it the little kids needing shoes? No, although that is sad. But here's the real sadness – at least for me. Toms Shoes is an anomaly. They are a bright light in the sea of mercenary businesses that are slicing each other's throats for their next transaction that puts another nickel in their pockets. And that makes them newsworthy. That makes them worth writing about. Sad that so many businesses aren't worth writing about.

This is the essence of “Wow!” It's the recognition of the human need and doing something about it. That's “Wow!” worthy.