On April 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Alpha Phi Omega fraternity and SISTUHS Incorporated will host their 2nd Annual One Day Without Shoes event.
Jonathon Martinez, junior English major and one of the event’s organizers, said One Day Without Shoes is sponsored by TOMS Shoes, a non-profit organization with an initiative that donates a pair of shoes to needy children overseas when customers purchase their brand.
“This is NSU’s way of delivering the same message,” he said.
Martinez said there will be a walkathon and a big twister competition at the event. At the walkathon, students and faculty will walk through the Don Taft University Center from the first floor to the second floor without shoes or wearing only socks.
“The walkathon is to help spread awareness, for students to get engaged and have the community come together,” he said.
Alpha Phi Omega hosted the event last year with the aim of making it an NSU tradition. Martinez said the fraternity’s members are excited.Each person has a pair of TOMS and they want to help students purchase a pair also. He said they will be offering incentives for people who participate in the event.
“We have a discount code for them to purchase a pair of TOMS. Once they come to the event, they can purchase a pair at the purchasing table,” he said.
Zach Conaway, NSU alumnus, said he will support the event because it’s for a good cause.
“Anything you can do to help out someone else is always a good thing regardless of what you’re doing or what it is for,” he said. “If you’re helping someone else get a small improvement in their life, then it’s a good thing.”
Martinez hopes One Day Without Shoes will help students take a step that makes a difference.
“It’s important for everyone to understand that there are people in different countries who don’t have the same opportunities as we do, especially children. Children should have as much as they need to develop and since some of them don’t have shoes, we need to try our best to help them,” he said.
