Bare Feet
(IN PHOTO) An eight-year old Nicaraguan boy, Bayron Espinoza, plays in the ruins of a tank used in the war against Dictator Anastacio Somoza in a park in the former centre of Managua January 22,2004. The Nicaragua government announced today that the IMF and the World Bank had agreed to condone 80% of its foreign debt. The news was welcomed as the 'best economic news in the last 25 years' by President Enrique Bolanos. Nicaragua is the second poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and its foreign debt up until today was 6,500 Million dollars. Pictures of the month January 2004 Reuters

In the tradition of the successful ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which melds charity with social media, footwear company Toms is offering to give away a pair of shoes for every bare feet photo posted on Instagram. Only one photo per person is allowed.

The initiative runs from May 5 through May 21. Those who would post their photos must use the hashtag #WITHOUTSHOES, reports Time.

It is Toms’ eighth yearly One Day Without Shoes campaign. The company will give away up to one million pairs of shoes to needy children. As of Tuesday, over 31,000 posts were made. Tom’s would announce on May 21 the total number of shoes it would give away.

Toms’, which called the project “For One, Another,” explained that it believes “in creating a world where we live for one, another.” The firm also asked people who would participate to tag their friends and dare them to do the same, pointing out that “the more you share, the more you give.”

It hopes to replicate the multiplier effect of tagging and sharing on social media. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge used the same multiplier effect when the person who did the challenge nominated five other people to do the same.

However, this one is simpler to do and does not pose a risk to the health or safety of donors, unlike the Ice Bucket Challenge where there were cases of the challenge going awry and sending the donor to the hospital. There is also no need to buy a pair of shoes from Toms to give, just a photo of bare feet on Instagram is enough.

Toms said that providing children with shoes increases their access to education. If school uniform is added to the shoes, school attendance goes up by 62 percent, according to a 2009 study made by Toms’ giving partner in India, Magic Bus.

Blake Mycoskie established the company in 2006 when he promised to donate a pair of shoes to children who live in poverty for every canvas pair it sold. Toms donated 10,000 pairs on its first year of operations, which grew 20 times to 200,000 pairs on its second year, reports Forbes.

Besides shoes, Toms also donates a birth kit, made up of a clean pad, gloves and sterile equipment, for every bag sold, and clean water for every bag of coffee sold.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au

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