How I Made the (Unlikely) Leap From a Love of Shoes ... to Charity

If you think about it, the two things are pretty incongruous, and the idea to combine them really didn't come naturally... at first.

The bridge connecting my love of shoes to charity first popped into my head while I was watching Oprah this past April. One guest profiled was Tom Shadyac, a Hollywood director who achieved tremendous professional and financial success, only to give up the "good life" for one of simplicity after a medical crisis. He literally moved from "a mansion to a mobile home," which is the name of the article provided in the links below. Tom has an amazing, uplifting story, and I encourage you to read the article. But the segment that left me literally wracked with sobs told about one of the many charities Tom donates to… Invisible Children.

College students Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole and Jason Russell were traveling, looking for adventure, when they came across the atrocity of the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, a terrorist group that rip children from their homes in the night and force them to join the army. Those who resist are tortured, beaten, and some, killed in front of their families. To escape these nightly rampages, the children walk to nearby larger cities in groups, shrouded in the safety of numbers, to bunk down anywhere they can find shelter. Some nights they sleep literally stacked, body upon body. When the sun rises, they walk home to attend school, only to repeat their trek again at nightfall. Bobby, Laren and Jason dubbed these children the Nightwalkers, recorded all they saw, and turned it into a documentary called "Invisible Children." They also created a foundation by the same name, and have currently raised $33 million to, in their own words, " … rebuild schools, educate future leaders, and provide jobs in Northern Uganda."

After watching this, I realized that I, too, am safely shrouded... not in numbers, but in comfort. Sure, I watch the news, but I have the option of turning it off when I become too upset by a particular issue. Like Scarlett O'Hara, I can  "… think about it tomorrow." When I tuck my three boys into bed at night, I know that not only will they sleep in comfort, but that they will be there in the morning. I KNOW that I am incredibly lucky…  by sheer location of where I landed on the planet. My love of shoes, and the fact that I am so fortunate, has afforded me a closet FULL of beautiful shoes whose numbers could easily shod the feet of an entire village of Ugandan children. And while we donate monthly to several different charities, the automatic deductions from our checking account didn't FEEL like I was doing enough. Because I wasn't—plain and simple.  I became haunted by my own complacency, carefully ensconced in the sterility of the automatic deductions I didn't see, and, even worse, never felt.

It came to me in a near epiphany; it was so simple, really. My idea for a Girl's Night Out wearing fabulous shoes… the idea that was received so enthusiastically by so many for it's pure sense of fun, could be the perfect vehicle to help others. Fabulous Shoe Night is something my friends and I would do anyway …  so what if I were to perhaps … charge a nominal cover fee that would go to a local charity? We could raise at least several hundred dollars that way …. money the charity would never have otherwise. My mind raced and leapt further ahead …. WAY further. What if I chose a date far enough out in the future, and I told all my Facebook friends, and they told all of theirs, and so on, and we would all host a FSN in our own towns on the same date? Everyone who attended would cover the cost of their own food and drink, but their cover fee would be donated to a predetermined charity? Of course, there would be logistics to work out, but ….. how much money could we raise? The power and magic of Facebook have far-reaching tentacles  …. with enough planning and preparation, in addition to proper execution, this could be huge. Instead of a monthly GNO, aka Fabulous Shoe Night, it would be replaced by a monthly party …  a party with a purpose.

Now comes the hard part … working out the logistics and execution. The preliminary concept has changed somewhat and is taking definite shape. I have assembled an advisory board of  stellar, dedicated people, each bringing their unique talents to the table to help me bring this idea to fruition. In the coming months, you will "meet" these remarkable people through my blog entries. You will read of the astonishing, serendipitous events that have already taken place; events that lead me to believe that I am clearly on the right path. I hope you join me as I chronicle our journey through this blog. 

I am SO excited. It's going to be … fabulous.

www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Tom-Shadyac-From-Millionaire-to-Mobile-Home
www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Invisible-Children
www.invisiblechildren.com