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Blake Mycoskie's story has a powerful message. The 600,000 pairs of shoes his company has given to impoverished children around the world is proof of that.

Mycoskie, the founder and chief shoe giver of TOMS Shoes, addressed over 1,000 UD students and community members as the keynote speaker for the 22nd annual Stander Symposium last Tuesday, April 13.

TOMS is a for-profit company that manufactures casual cloth shoes modeled after Argentinean footwear. Its business model is One for One. For each pair of shoes purchased, a pair is given to a child who cannot afford to buy their own.

According to Dr. Kathleen Watters, the co-chair of Stander Symposium, Mycoskie was chosen as the keynote speaker because of his successful business model and unique perspective. Watters found his business model to be very consistent with what is stressed in the social justice aspects of UD.

"He is a different speaker than what we have had in the past, but we were so excited," Watters said. "He really resonated with students in a positive way."

Mycoskie started TOMS, short for Shoes for Tomorrow, in 2006 while visiting Argentina and discovering that children living just an hour away from Buenos Aires were not allowed to attend school because they could not pay for the proper footwear. He helped collect used shoes for a shoe drive, which were then given to kids living near the city.

"These kids were so excited; you would have thought it was Christmas," he said in his address. [They] were treating these shoes as the greatest treasure in the world."

Mycoskie promptly came up with the idea for a shoe charity that would manufacture two pairs of shoes for every one bought, gifting the second pair to children like the ones he met in Argentina. As he mulled over the idea, Mycoskie became concerned with the sustainability of his project. He decided to found a for-profit business, as opposed to a charity; the initial investment made in the company would continue to fund growth, while a charity would have to rely on steady donations.

Mycoskie brought 250 initial pairs of shoes back to the U.S. He sold 80 pairs to a shoe store and a few to friends and family before unexpectedly becoming the main feature on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Calendar section. That day, 2,200 orders were place on the TOMS website. From there, the company's publicity and sales exploded, being featured in publications like Vogue and having shoes sold in major distributors across the U.S.

By the summer of 2006, Mycoskie's company had sold 10,000 pairs of shoes, and he made the decision to go back to Argentina on TOMS' first shoe drive.

"People asked me if my life changed when I first had the idea for TOMS," he said. "The truth is no. When I had the idea, my life didn't change - it was just an idea. But it changed radically when I went on that first shoe drive. It changed me to the core. I knew my life would never be the same."

In his speech, Mycoskie stressed to students the importance of giving and to remember that fact when joining the workforce. He said he believes the reason TOMS has succeeded is because of the fact that people can connect with its message - something that other businesses are trying to emulate.

"This is the future of business; I truly believe it," Mycoskie said. "If you incorporate something larger than yourself, you will attract a lot of people ... As good as giving feels, it is a great business strategy and a great life strategy."

After his address, Mycoskie attended a meet and greet with professors and about 15 students who were chosen to meet him through an essay contest.

Junior Christine Olding said she entered the competition to meet Mycoskie because of the message TOMS brings to others.

"Students should be realizing the needs of those around them in their campus or community," Olding said. "TOMS is a company that really brings that issue to the forefront."

During the meet and greet, Mycoskie mingled with students, taking pictures, answering questions and conversing about their ideas for TOMS. The company has never spent money on advertising, and Mycoskie continued to emphasize the importance of young people in a company like TOMS.

"It wasn't that long ago I was sitting in that chair thinking about what I want to do with my life," he said. "But you're the reason this has become a movement; you're the reason 600,000 kids around the world have shoes. And companies out there are realizing that and are now looking for kids that are passionate."