"I always thought I'd spend the first half of my life making money and the second half giving it away. I never thought I could do both at the same time." (Mustafa C2) This is what Blake Mycoskie, founder of the TOMS organization, says of his actions-merely giving money away. But it's so much more than that. A now widespread, well-known organization, it is safe to say that Blake Mycoskie is changing the lives of many families and many children with his concept of "buy one, give one free" TOMS.
Originally born in Nashville, Tennessee, Mycoskie moved to Arlington, Texas at the age of six, then to Orange, California when he was just ten. Not too close to the glamour of Hollywood, but not far enough to keep Mycoskie's imagination from dreaming up his "one-day" famous life. At the age of 25, he and his sister, Paige, landed roles on the reality T.V. show The Amazing Race as a team. Not exactly the instant movie star status he had hoped to achieve, Mycoskie thought taking part in this then-popular reality series would push his career along and stardom would follow. But when it didn't, he decided to open a small business. After his first failed, he tried three more times, failing every time. After closing his fourth, Mycoskie decided it was time to get away from it all, his decision leading him to a travel agency to book the fateful three-week vacation to Argentina, later to become the inspiration for his organization and the headquarters of his operations.
It was on this trip that Mycoskie's idea was sparked. While doing volunteer work in Los Piletones, he realized few people had decent, workable shoes, if any at all. The shoes that people did have were poorly made canvas shoes with rope soles. He couldn't begin to imagine how hard it must have been for some of these people. "There is a significant health issue in a lot of Third World countries among women and children who traditionally have to walk miles to get water everyday. They get cuts on their feet, which get infected. So shoes are at the top of the list..." (Moore F6) So, of course his sympathetic nature kicked in and he wanted to do something about it.
...k wearing those old saddle shoes with her nice pink and white dress. Here poverty stroke Esperanza and hard on the back, she could not even enjoy the new dress she finally got. She did not have good shoes, there for she was not able to dance at the party because she felt like everyone would stare. She finally decided to dance with her uncle and forgot about the fact of not having nice shoes except for the once a year pair of shoes. As she continues to explain about her shoes she says, "… I am wearing only ordinary shoes, brown and white, the kind my mother buys each year for school." (Cisneros 47), here Esperanza proves that they do buy them new shoes every year, and every year they are saddle shoes because they last longer (the entire year until, until next September).
...ould be given away” (Singer, Peter). He did not give enough reasoning in why we should donate and why he is requesting such a large portion of one’s salary. He then goes on and says, “If we value the life of a child more than going to fancy restaurants, the next time we dine out we will know that we could have done something better with our money” (Singer, Peter).
It is the necessity that people in 1900’s had expected that there might be a change in attitude of others who make their choices to buy certain shoes now called Converse canvas chuck style. It was in 1902 when first converse shoe was made with assertion that there is need for an effective change in the way sportsmen use different shoes and with purpose for it to get used in Basketball.
how the shoes had taken over his life. One should not ruin their self health for any
Today, Ben and Jerry's has expanded into a multi-million dollar business, and continues to open franchises throughout the world. Maintaining their commitment to "share the wealth," these two business men have supported many charitable organizations including " 1% For Peace," "Support Farm Aid," and "One World, One Hear Festival," (1)
People like to read about topics that they can relate to, especially because world poverty and starvation are still issues in many impoverished countries. Both of these articles stir up a lot of controversy between people in wealthier nations such as the United States because not everyone is going to be willing to donate ten to twenty percent of their yearly income. I personally believe that it is not my moral obligation to feed the poor and hungry because I have my own life and my loved ones to worry about. I’m not saying we shouldn’t give anything to people in need of help, but there’s just so much you can do to help other people. Singer mentions that organizations like UNICEF and Oxfam America collect money to save the lives of children. Let’s say you donate $200 to one of these organizations. You might be able to help one “sickly 2-year-old transform into a healthy 6-year-old” but what happens after that? Does the 6-year-old child continue to be healthy? What can you do to make sure that your initial donation of $200 benefits the child in the long run? I’m sure you don’t just want to temporarily help a child in need (Singer
“For every pair I sell, I’m going to give a pair of new shoes to a child in need,” according to the book of Blake Mycoskie's (2011, p.6) work. He is not only the author of “Start Something That Matters”, but also the founder of TOMS.
Pg. 17 “Nevertheless all is not lost; much remains, and I welcome the prospect of an army of lug-soled hiker’s boots on the desert trails.”
Most people feel that they should help the needy in some way or another. The problem is how to help them. This problem generally arises when there is a person sitting on the side of the road in battered clothes with a cardboard sign asking for some form of help, almost always in the form of money. Yet something makes the giver uneasy. What will they do with this money? Do they need this money? Will it really help them? The truth of the matter is, it won't. However, there are things that can be done to help the needy. Giving money to a reliable foundation will help the helpless, something that transferring money from a pocket to a man's tin can will never do.
When you were a little kid whoever bought your shoes always bought you the ugly Velcro ones that most always had some kind of cartoon character on them or lit up when the shoe hit the ground. Then one day you decided you weren’t a little kid anymore and the cartoon character or light up shoes weren’t cool enough for you. So off the person who bought your shoes went to buy “big kid shoes”. But, there was a problem, you didn’t know how to keep them on your feet without tripping over those weird looking strings. So the shoe buyer went through step-by-step teaching you how to tie your shoes. At the time it seemed like it was an impossible task to accomplish, and it may even still be for some people. Maybe this way will help the young and old that can’t tie their sho...
In William Blake’s poem “The Chimney Sweeper,” the speaker, a young boy, introduces himself and relays a common story among all lower-class individuals of the late-eighteenth and early- to mid-nineteenth centuries—that story being a life of woe and untimely death. Blake relays the plight of these victims of the Industrial Revolution in England by using the speaker, a chimney-sweep himself, to retell a story that his young friend told him—one taken from a dream, which, given its subject matter, strangely comforts the dreamer. And this boy, Tom, who is all but born into sorrow, takes solace in the thought of dying, of leaving his earthly toils behind for another, better life with God in heaven. In this poem, Blake essentially takes issue with two powerful forces in eighteenth-century England: a blind government and a pacifist religion.
The Amazing Race is a reality TV show where teams of two race across the world in competition with other teams in a quest for one million dollars. The Amazing Race was created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster and has aired in the United States since 2001. The Amazing Race displays how ordinary people act when they are thrown into competition. Also, this particular program illustrates challenges these competitors will endure in order to make a million dollars. It’s interesting to think about how different our society could be if Americans would work this hard with their minds and energy towards a job in America.
"Opinion | Your TOMS Shoes Won't save the World." The Miami Student. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
A penny saved may be a penny earned, just as a penny spent may begin to better the world. Andrew Carnegie, a man known for his wealth, certainly knew the value of a dollar. His successful business ventures in the railroad industry, steel business, and in communications earned him his multimillion-dollar fortune. Much the opposite of greedy, Carnegie made sure he had what he needed to live a comfortable life, and put what remained of his fortune toward assistance for the general public and the betterment of their communities. He stressed the idea that generosity is superior to arrogance. Carnegie believes that for the wealthy to be generous to their community, rather than live an ostentatious lifestyle proves that they are truly rich in wealth and in heart. He also emphasized that money is most powerful in the hands of the earner, and not anyone else. In his retirement, Carnegie not only spent a great deal of time enriching his life by giving back; but also often wrote about business, money, and his stance on the importance of world peace. His essay “Wealth” presents what he believes are three common ways in which the wealthy typically distribute their money throughout their life and after death. Throughout his essay “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie appeals to logos as he defines “rich” as having a great deal of wealth not only in materialistic terms, but also in leading an active philanthropic lifestyle. He solidifies this definition in his appeals to ethos and pathos with an emphasis on the rewards of philanthropy to the mind and body.
Singer’s argument may have swayed many people to donate their dispensable income to children in need despite the fact that it has many fundamental flaws. He argues that we should give away the majority of our earnings to charity. Since Singer wants the reader to donate such a large amount of money, the readers are given no choice but to contribute nothing whatsoever. His solution is not realistic and does not take into account the long-term financial impact this type of donation contribution system would have on a country’s economy.