To those of you who’ve met a member of the TOMS family, or really to anyone who checks up with news from HQ via the blog, email, Facebook, or Twitter (you can imagine our struggle with the 140-character limit), you know it’s rare we’re at a loss for words.

But when it comes to our Giving Side, there are some moments that leave us so moved, empowered and proud that we’re actually speechless. That’s why we often leave it to the TOMS Giving team to relay to everyone (you guys and the rest of us at HQ) the highlights of giving shoes, and now sight, to people in need.

We hope you’ll take a minute and think about the impact we’re all having on the lives of people in need because of your purchases, your support and your help in spreading the word about One for One so it can continue to help change the world.

Here are some of our favorite quotes of this year from TOMS Giving Partners, children who’ve received TOMS shoes, people who’ve been given the gift of sight, and the TOMS family who’ve been blessed to see the impact firsthand. …

Top 10 Giving Quotes of 2011



"Today you will get a pair of new TOMS shoes. And with these shoes comes the responsibility to go to school, to study hard, to treat all of those around you with respect, to be proud of who you are and to go out and do good in your community.”
- Vivian, Volunteer Executive Director at Hogar de Niños Enmanuel, to children about to receive new TOMS shoes, Honduras




"There is no reason for people to be unnecessarily blind. The majority of blinding conditions in developing countries are either preventable or curable."
- Dr. Chundak Tenzing, TOMS Sight Giving Partner Seva Foundation, Nepal, Tibet & Cambodia

"I see the children walking up with a pair of shoes on them that they never had before. And every step is, 'thank you, thank you, thank you.' With big smiles on their faces, they have tripped over the joy of looking down at their feet covered in a new pair of shoes."
- Sister Ethel, Missionvale Care Centre, TOMS Shoe Giving Partner, South Africa

"When I saw my granddaughter for the first time [since she was 6 months old] I was so excited. I thought, 'She is so beautiful!'"
- Hean Chanthy, recipient of a TOMS-supported cataract surgery, Cambodia

"The shoes mean 'something new; something mine; something that hasn’t been passed down to me from my brother or sister; something that I don’t have just because school says I need this type of shoe; these are something new and special that was given to me just because.’"
- Ruthie from Coprodeli, TOMS Shoe Giving Partner, Peru

"... I’m excited because when I woke up in the morning, I did not know when I’ll have something like this," shares a student in Kenya. A teacher adds, “…I can tell you, these children will not sleep today. They will be talking about those shoes the whole night!”
– Feed The Children, TOMS Shoe Giving Partner, Kenya

“World Sight Day is a day of celebration, where we light not candles but hearts with compassion…a day when the sun shines brighter, and the heart feels lighter to know that someone, somewhere smiles and enjoys the freedom of light through your One for One gift of sight.”
– Dr. Chundak Tenzing from Seva Foundation to the TOMS family, Santa Monica

"Some of the parents almost cried when they saw their children wearing shoes. This is because some of the children were wearing the shoes for the first time in their entire lives."
- Staff member from World Vision, TOMS shoe Giving Partner, at a TOMS shoe distribution

“As part of the TOMS community, we are a part of empowering young leaders to thrive and grow to be change-makers, wherever they are.”
– Sevag, TOMS Employee, after returning from a Giving trip with TOMS Giving Partner Hogar de Niños Enmanuel, Honduras

“It has been a long time since I could see the little things. Now, I can read the textbooks and make out small letters that I couldn’t see before. Going back to school and being able to see the students, the words, everything – there are no words to express my joy. I am so grateful to the doctors and to you for helping me. Thank you.”
– Monkung, recipient of a TOMS-supported cataract surgery, Cambodia