Hundreds of individuals and community leaders are gathering to support the Think Kindness organization in sending over 7,770 gently used shoes to AIDS orphans and refugees in Nyeri, Kenya. Brian Williams, youth motivational speaker and president of the Think Kindness organization, has identified an orphanage that has over 160 children, half of which have never owned a single pair of shoes in their life. “I have challenged over 25,000 students within our local school district to make a massive difference in our community. Now, the challenge has grown to the entire city. The original goal was 5,000 shoes, we exceeded that by over 2,700 in less than 90 days!”

The Think Kindness organization has compiled a team of teachers, high school students, and martial artists that will be personally flying to Kenya and placing the shoes on the feet of children in need. While there, they will be filming a documentary film that will be screened at dozens of schools and community centers to show everyone what the impact their simple act of kindness had on a child in need. “Children in Kenya or going to be thrilled to walk in the shoes of Americans! Yet, what will be just as amazing is that we will be bringing these stories and reactions home on film. Hopefully this will spark and inspire even more kindness within our local community, even something as simple as donating a used pair of shoes.” Says Williams.

To raise the funds needed to ship the shoes, Think Kindness organization, alongside UNR’s American Marketing Association, is hosting Take The Walk, a shoeless walk-a-thon. “The goal is to gather over 1,000 people to walk one mile without shoes in solidarity to help raise the $10,000 needed to ship the shoes.” Said Rori Goetze – Director of Think Kindness.

The event has captured attention of thousands across the social media networks, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Youtube. “Everyone is connected, one email or wall post can reach thousands. And its working! Everyone is blogging, wall posting, twittering, and talking about the event and how they want to “Take The Walk.” Says Williams.

“Take The Walk is more than a walk-a-thon. It is movement towards asking people to “take the walk” every day in their own lives to make our community and world a better place. It is not just a mile stroll, it is a way of life.” Says Pat Conners, owner of Tetrus Building Materials.

For more information about the Kenya Shoe Drop, please visit www.ThinkKindness.org

Think Kindness has collected over 2,500 3,800 pairs of shoes and now we need help delivering them to Nyeri, Kenya, where they will be personally placed on the feet of children in need. Many of these children have never owned a pair of shoes.

Join me on June 7th at the Manzanita Bowl at the University of Nevada, Reno for a 1 mile walk without (or with, if you prefer) shoes. Our goal is to have over 1,500 walkers so please spread the word to your friends, family, and coworkers!

Call to Action! What can you do?
1. Register for TAKE THE WALK today!

2. Visit TAKE THE WALK on Facebook

3. Print or email flyers (PDF) for your friends, family, and coworkers

4. Post the flyer (JPG) on your blog or website

Take The Walk from Brian Williams on Vimeo.