As part of the Bluefield College mission to graduate servant leaders and to be in service to God and the community, BC students participate often in mission and ministry projects, but none with more customization and style than the TOMS Shoes ministry called “Style Your Sole.”
TOMS Shoes launched its ministry in 2006 when American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and discovered they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes as a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased by customers with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. By the end of that year, the “One for One” program had provided news shoes to 10,000 needy children. Today, the company has given away more than a million pairs of shoes.
Determined to add to that number, Bluefield College students took part for the fourth year in a row in a spring “Style Your Sole” event on campus. After purchasing their own pair of TOMS, which through the “One for One” program provided a new pair of shoes to kids in need, the students filled the school’s Student Activities Center, March 26, to decorate their blank white canvas kicks with paint, fabric, glitter, chatter, and music.
“This event gives students the opportunity to give back to children across the globe,” said BC’s Kelly Bittler, who organizes the program on campus, “and to express themselves artistically.”
And, artistic they were as some decorated their shoes with floral fabrics, buttons and glitter, while others hand-painted polka dots and floral designs on their TOMS. They covered them in splatter paint, spray paint, fabric paint, and other material. Regardless of the theme or the medium, the colors were bright and the message was loud.
“This really shows how much our students care about those in need,” said Bittler. “It’s a great opportunity to have fun, to be creative, and to provide a new pair of shoes to a child who needs them. I hope we can continue this event and increase our numbers each year.”
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| Check out more photos from the Style Your Sole Event. |
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A GROUP OF BLUEFIELD COLLEGE STUDENTS DECORATE THEIR NEW TOMS SHOES. FOR EVERY PAIR PURCHASED BY THE BC STUDENTS, A PAIR WAS DONATED TO NEEDY KIDS AS PART OF THE TOMS STYLE YOUR SOLE PROGRAM.