Blake Mycoskie is the founder and Chief Shoe Giver at TOMS shoes. He was an entrepreneur right out of college, founding 4 different businesses before TOMS, and competed with his sister on the CBS show, The Amazing Race.

After a vacation to Argentina he became friends with children there and noticed that many of them didn’t have any shoes. For the long miles many of them walk to get the necessities of life like water, shelter, and food they can tear up their bare feet on the unpaved roads. Open sores on their feet can lead to infections from contaminated soil and lead to amputation. Children also can’t attend school without shoes because it’s required for their uniform. Mycoskie wanted to help and founded TOMS shoes with a One for One goal. For every pair of shoes that purchased one pair will be donated to a child in need. He returned to Argentina with friends, family, and 10,000 pairs of shoes from TOMS customers. Now more than 400,000 pairs have been given to children in many countries, including America. The shoes are fashioned to look like the ones they wear in Argentina.

Mycoskie has won many awards for his business model including the People’s Design award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Smithsonian Institution. TOMS has also committed to donating 100,000 pairs of shoes to those in need in Haiti through the Clinton Global Initiative. He is showing that there doesn’t have to be choice between making money and making a difference. Many other companies have also implemented the One for One business model.

“Having Blake on campus will be a great way for students to meet a young entrepreneur who is doing great things for others” said Jill Baranowski, director of the Engaging Issues committee. Blake will be speaking on March 30th at 8pm in the Grand Ballroom.