If you’re looking for an excuse to walk barefoot on campus then Tuesday, April 29 is your chance. The Early Education and Care Inclusive Settings Club (EECIS) will be running a program called One Day Without Shoes.
“We are raising awareness about poverty in Massachusetts and how not having resources, such as shoes, affects children’s attendance in school and their mental state,” said Joy Randall, a student and member of EECIS.
The One Day Without Shoes is an idea the EECIS got from TOMS, the shoe company. TOMS gives shoes all over the United States, South America, Africa, Middle East, and Asia.
“Shoes help protect children’s feet from cuts, infections, and diseases. When children are healthy, they can attend school, fight minor illnesses, and grow up to reach their potential,” reads the TOMS website. The site also explains that many countries require shoes for school attendance and children with shoes have more confidence, an essential trait for learning. 
“Children who are not clothed properly cannot develop appropriately because their bodies are in survival mode. [They are] more concerned with living day to day rather than brain development, and floods the body with toxic stress,” says Randall, a full-time student, educator, and mother of two, majoring in Early Childhood Education.
The EECIS club works in early education schools and lobbies for education and children’s rights to an education. This is their first year running the One Day Without Shoes program. Kick off your shoes and remember it’s for a good cause.