TOMS and their peers. Love it.

My previous post discusses TOMS Shoes, the world's coolest company- one that sells shoes and gives shoes in the very same transaction! This company has inspired me to turn my job search in a totally different direction. It has allowed me to realize that I want my career to make me feel good about what I am doing. I want more than a paycheck (although I do have to live...).

With that said, I did some research and have compiled a list of companies that I feel are (almost) as awesome as TOMS Shoes and have similar business models and goals:

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

Mission: "To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing

each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning."

This company gives people the opportunity to donate used laptops or buy a new one for children in need in developing countries! (Check out this link to see pictures of OLPC in

action)

Because Clothing

This company's "garments aim to inspire, raise funds and awareness for the beneficiaries, and are manufactured responsibly in the USA. San Francisco’s Ashbury Images, whose social mission is to provide employment, job training, and support services to individuals recovering from substance abuse and homelessness, did many of the T-shirt screen-printing."

Choose Your Cause
"Through the sale of high-end, luxury bracelets, 20% of the proceeds goes toward causes championed by The Hollyrod Foundation." The four causes that the company focuses on are: Breast Cancer, Children, Autism and Parkinson’s disease.

Peacekeeper Cause-metics
Peacekeeper Cause-metics is "the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues. Peacekeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land-of-plenty with extraordinary women who just by chance of birth don’t have our resources or opportunities."

EDUN
"EDUN specializes in Organic Clothing, Graphic Tees, and Eco Clothing with a mission to drive sustainable employment in developing economies."

FEED Projects

This company's goal is to reach hungry children through the sales of their FEED bags. These bags raise much-needed funds for WFP school-feeding operations and awareness of the problem of child hunger. They distribute the funds through the FEED Foundation which gets the money from the bag sales to hungry children as efficiently as possible. Visit the FEED Foundation at http://www.thefeedfoundation.org/.

I won't bore you with any more blurbs, so here are a list of even more companies who are doing good things. Check them out. Seriously.
Rosa Loves
The Hunger Site
I'm Tired Free Rice
Project Have Hope


Want to find charities to get involved with? Check out this great resource: Charity Navigator

TOMS Shoes- An Awesome Company.

So yeah. Job hunting is a job all in itself- if you've read my previous postings, I make it pretty clear that it can be rough. What I didn't mention was that, at least for me, it can lead you to companies you never even thought of working for.

I first Came across TOMS Shoes in a magazine a little less than a year ago. I thought that their cause/business idea was ingenious but quickly forgot about the blurb I read in that magazine. Then the AT&T commercial started coming out about TOMS. I became reinspired by this innovative company! I looked them up online and was SOLD.



The way TOMS Shoes works is... they sell people like you and me (or at least me- I'll speak for myself) these awesome shoes. The shoes are based on traditional Argentinian shoes called alpargatas. With each pair of shoes that they sell, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need. These children don't have shoes and are at risk of catching diseases like Podoconiosis (Podo).

"Wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores on unsafe roads and from contaminated soil. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected. The leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted parasites which penetrate the skin through open sores. Wearing shoes can prevent this and the risk of amputation.

Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential." (taken from www.TOMSShoes.com)"

Anyway, totally converted, I bought a pair the day I looked them up. I got the Ash Canvas ones (dark gray) and LOVE them! Plus, it was an awesome feeling knowing that I had just bought TWO pairs- giving one to someone who really needs it. Now THAT's a BOGO deal if I've ever heard one (in this case, it could stand for Buy One Give One).

I currently work for a non profit and, while that is definately a rewarding, awesome job, it is hard for my company to make ends meet every single month. What I find intriguing about TOMS Shoes is that this is a company doing good without having to struggle to keep itself afloat (at least from what I can tell). What a clever business plan! Make money and help people! Who Knew!?

And that day, on their website, I applied to be an intern with TOMS Shoes... Unfortunately, I fliled out the surprisingly long application the morning of my HARDEST final exam. So I'm not entirely sure all my responses were my buest- but I was so excited! The internship runs semester-long: August through December or January. So its official. I want to work for TOMS or a company just like them.

Wish Me Luck! (and check out my website)