Trying to keep up your shoe swag is SUCH a strenuous task. I mean, think about it: keeping up with the current trends and updating our genres of shoes is no inexpensive or simple task. We need casual shoes, our going-out shoes, our I’m-going-to-trek-across-campus shoes, shoes to match that really weird shade of green shirt I bought that one time.

But we’ve become so wrapped up in the materialistic necessities for shoes that we have forgotten their “sole” purpose: to protect our feet from the harsh conditions of Mother Earth

While we waltz around in our comfy socks and air-filled sneakers, millions of people are lacking this seemingly basic necessity. Without proper footwear, countless children and adults have to live their daily routines relying only on the calluses on their feet to protect them. But still, they are exposed to disease, wounds and infections.

The Penn State TOMS Club is hosting today a One State Without Shoes event in conjunction with the TOMS One Day Without Shoes. This event is to raise awareness of the major problem in shoe deficiency in foreign countries by walking an entire day without shoes.

Today, starting at 12:30pm, Penn State TOMS Club will begin their Barefoot Walk starting from the Shortlidge Mall near the Thomas Building and will continue to walk to Pollock Road. There will also be an info table in the HUB from 9am-11am.

Wearing shoes is a basic form of maintaining good hygiene and remaining sanitary. According to the TOMS website for the event, over 4 million people are infected with a soil-based disease called podoconiosis. They also report that approximately 740 million contract hookworm, which can affect the intestines and cause fatigue and cognitive damage. Amongst other facts on the website, about 30,000 people in the Philippines live on a landfill where they are affected by debris that can be very dangerous, harmful and unsanitary.

TOMS Shoes advocates the One For One Movement, which means for every pair of TOMS you buy, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. The Penn State TOMS Club promotes and tries to spread awareness of this movement and the shoe crisis.

So take off those shoes and experience for one day, what children have to experience their entire lives. Make a difference, and join the TOMS One For One Movement. Just walk one day in their non-existent shoes.

The Penn State TOMS Club asks that if you are participating, to please be safe and respectful to the rules of your professors and the university employees.

For more information you can contact the Facebook event page for One State Without Shoes. Also check out the video below from UGA’s One Day Without Shoes.