Dick Pope/Polk County FPRA Chapter will provide TOMS shoes to preschool and grade school children

Tuesday, December 29

The DP/PC FPRA chapter and Florida Southern College are partnering with Lighthouse Ministries, Inc., Salvation Army Lakeland and Lake Wales Center to provide white, canvas TOMS shoes to preschool and grade school children.

Founded by Blake Mycoskie, TOMS Shoes, Inc. has one simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. By the end of 2009, TOMS will have given over 500,000 pairs of new shoes to children in need all around the world, including the U.S.

Blake has been profiled in People, Oprah Magazine, Readers Digest, TIME, Vogue, US In Style, Lucky and many other media outlets. To learn more visit www.tomsshoes.com.

The DP/PC FPRA Chapter anticipates to provide TOMS shoes to children in the three Polk County shelters listed above and TOMS will provide an additional pair to children in the U.S. or internationally. Most children in developing countries grow up barefoot and their primary mode of transportation is walking.

Blake will be speaking to the Florida Southern College students on February 17, 2010 on the One for One business model and will be encouraging young business entrepreneurs on How to do Good and Make Money at the Same Time. After speaking to the FSC students, he will visit our local shelters as children paint and decorate their new TOMS canvas shoes.

We need your support, please join us by purchasing one pair, five pair, 20 pair or even 50 pair of TOMS Shoes. Each pair you purchase for a child in Polk County will ensure another child in need will also receive a pair.

For more information, to volunteer and/or purchase shoes contact Shirley Whitney at (863) 644-4145 or Rwhitney1@tampabay.rr.com or Teresa OBrien at (863) 534-0698 or Teresa.obrien@polk-fl.net.

Named in honor of Cypress Gardens founder Dick Pope, Sr., the 100-member Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter and its affiliated Southeastern University and Florida Southern College chapters are among 15 professional and 13 student chapters of FPRA, the professional organization for public relations practitioners in Florida.

The award-winning Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter meets on the third Wednesday of every month, with all meetings open to the public. For more information on the local chapter visit www.fprapolk.org/home on the web.

Based in Sarasota, FPRA is the nations oldest PR professional organization, providing professional development, networking and recognition opportunities for more than 1,500 public relations professionals across the state of Florida. FPRA was established in 1938 by the late Lt. Col. John Dillin, APR, CPRC of Lake Wales. Additional information can be found on the FPRA website at www.fpra.org.

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