TOMS shoe club schedules garage sale

Members of TOMS Shoe Club, (top row) President Mackenzie Oliphant, Vice President Courtney Sheets, Event Publicist Sarah Yosten, Adviser Amelia Harrell, (bottom row) Secretary Melina Reyes and Treasurer Emily Helms plan to organize a garage sale on Nov.17.

Members of the University's TOMS Shoe Club want students, faculty and staff to donate items to their upcoming garage sale.

President Mackensie Oliphant said the club members plan to conduct the sale from 4-7 p.m. Nov. 17 in the University Center Theater foyer.

Oliphant said drop boxes would be located at the University Center Welcome Desk and each campus-housing office until late on Nov. 16.

She said donations should be the usual garage-sale items, such as toys, clothes and small furniture.

She said if someone has a large donation and misses getting it into a box, one should e-mail tomsshoescampusclub@gmail.com or call 903-566-7207.

"The garage sale is our main event for the fall semester," she said. "We will use the proceeds to buy shoes for the Angel Tree Project that the Student Government Association is putting on during Christmas."

She said this means when we buy one pair of shoes for a child for that project, a pair also will be sent to someone else in need.

"We are not just a club to promote the mission of TOMS Shoes. It's to make a change in the community, environment and world," Oliphant said.

TOMS has given more than a million pairs of shoes to needy children as of September, according to its Web site.

This "One for One" concept uses the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good. In other words, the TOMS mission transforms its customers into benefactors, allowing it to develop into a sustainable business instead of depending on fundraising for support, according to its Web site.

"People think the founder of TOMS is named Tom, but it's not," she said. "Shoes for tomorrow, that's where T-O-M comes from-tomorrow."

Oliphant said the organization began last January when she and a friend, who has since graduated, co-founded it.

She said she would like to invite students to join TOMS Shoes Campus Club on Facebook.