The 33-year-old founder of TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, presented before a packed crowd of 1,200 at the Fresno Convention Center and at Fresno Pacific University later in the day, Oct. 27.

Through the events, Mycoskie shared knowledge from his experience to businessmen, entrepreneurs and students alike. (A video recap of the event at FPU is embedded below, courtesy of the University.)

As the mantra of TOMS goes, Mycoskie promises buyers that a pair of new TOMS shoes will be given to a child in need with every pair purchased: One for One. This principle has fueled a dynamic business and has provided free shoes to over one million needy children, he said.

At the FPU Business Forum, he detailed the experiences that led to his founding TOMS. During a vacation in Argentina, Mycoskie witnessed the community’s need for shoes. He saw the struggles children went through and the foot infections they contracted.

“I grew up in a middle-class family and never had to worry about shoes or clothes or any of those bare necessities,” Mycoskie said in his keynote address. “I find myself in this village completely impoverished; it’s a half landfill-garbage dump and half impoverished town. We get there with shoes, and kids start popping out from everywhere.”

Mycoskie began giving away shoes and was amazed by the kids’ reaction. He says he was filled with joy and compassion for the needy children.

“It’s amazing how excited they were about a single pair of shoes,” Mycoskie continued. “It was like Christmas Day. I remember getting on my hands and knees and putting shoes on the kids’ feet and just feeling my spirit filled with joy. I had never really done anything like this before and it totally overtook me.”

Following the trip, Mycoskie returned to Los Angeles and created his concept to distribute shoes. After a year of work, he returned to Argentina with 10,000 pairs of shoes in a life-altering trip.

“When I had the idea for TOMS, it was just an idea, an experiment, a side project,” Mycoskie said to the crowd. “When my life truly changed was when I went on that first shoe drop. We got on our hands and knees and put 10,000 pairs of shoes on kids’ feet … I’ll never forget it. I couldn’t believe that only five months earlier this was just an idea, and now 10,000 kids were getting shoes.”

Through TOMS, Mycoskie said he hopes to accomplish two things: (1) to alleviate suffering for those without shoes and (2) to educate other business leaders on the importance of giving. Businesses such as Sketchers are already following the TOMS trend.

“That’s really what we now have the responsibility to do: to educate and inspire so that other people can do it in other areas,” Mycoskie said. “There is a lot of room for businesses to incorporate more giving and not depend on donations and the non-profits.”

Mycoskie knows there are still millions of kids who go through life without a pair of shoes. He feels his calling in life is to provide shoes to as many needy children as he can.

“When I started TOMS, I knew kids needed shoes, but I had no idea it could change someone’s life this much,” Mycoskie said. “I have been called to get as many shoes on kids’ feet as I can in the world. I was convinced this was much much bigger than just an idea. Even when we gave away the millionth pair of shoes, it was kind of anticlimactic for me, because there is still a lot of work to do.”

For more information on TOMS, read the March 27 article, TOMS issues shoes, charity events.

Kingsburg reporter Kathy Wiest contributed to this article.

Blake Mycoskie Visit – ReCap from Fresno Pacific University on Vimeo.

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