Donate Your Chacos for a Discount!
June 5th 2007 17:57
Another shoe post-- but then I'll get back to travel, promise!
I recently found out about a very cool charity that Chacos is working with called the dZi Foundation-- they do work to furnish Himalayan people in monasteries and schools with functional shoes (as well as promote education, health, and social awareness).
The article where I found out about this program is on the Chaco homepage, but was taking place in participation with TravelCountry.com. As of September 2006, interested participants send their used shoes to TravelCountry.com, who gives the shoes to Chaco to clean and distribute through the dZi Foundation. In return, you get 20% off an order of new Chacos! And everyone loves those puppies-- rugged, Vibram soles, adjustable straps with no velcro to get all dirty-- was a deal!
Why this is awesome: You've heard me talk about Tibet and how much I love it, and in my time with the kids of the Jatson Chumig Welfare School the volunteers were able to do a little-- bringing sunglasses, teaching the kids to wash their hands and brush their teeth-- but there's a lot that Tibetans can still use, and the dZi Foundation is doing some great work on that. And since I found my Chacos really useful in the Himalayas I think it's awesome that they're providing Tibetans with quality shoes.
What still needs to happen: I hope that this attention to people living in the Himalayas can spark some other work-- most notably on eye health awareness. It's really common for people living in the Himalayas to experience eye and vision problems because of the extreme sun exposure on the Tibetan plateau. Cataracts, blindness, and vision failure are common not just among the elderly, but even for the middle-aged and younger. Obviously the extreme UV index can pose a problem for skin health as well, so I'd love to see some more work done with programs specifically addressing sun-damage awareness for both eye health and skin health. Maybe an organization like LensCrafters' Give the Gift of Sight program, but targeting the Himalayan region specifically (where incidence of preventable vision problems is high) and also putting a focus on comprehensive preventative health education.
If we're buying $90 pairs of sandals and designer glasses, the least we can do is make use of our old stuff when we don't want it anymore. So instead of throwing out your old shoes (or even keeping them in the closet thinking "Oh, maybe I'll need them if all of my other shoes get burned up in a house fire" when you KNOW you're done with those silly old 2005 Chacos and have a pair of the new model coming in the mail.
I recently found out about a very cool charity that Chacos is working with called the dZi Foundation-- they do work to furnish Himalayan people in monasteries and schools with functional shoes (as well as promote education, health, and social awareness).
The students of the Jatson Chumig Welfare School in Lhasa, Tibet
Don't blame the shoes-- I tape my feet for extra arch support!
Why this is awesome: You've heard me talk about Tibet and how much I love it, and in my time with the kids of the Jatson Chumig Welfare School the volunteers were able to do a little-- bringing sunglasses, teaching the kids to wash their hands and brush their teeth-- but there's a lot that Tibetans can still use, and the dZi Foundation is doing some great work on that. And since I found my Chacos really useful in the Himalayas I think it's awesome that they're providing Tibetans with quality shoes.
What still needs to happen: I hope that this attention to people living in the Himalayas can spark some other work-- most notably on eye health awareness. It's really common for people living in the Himalayas to experience eye and vision problems because of the extreme sun exposure on the Tibetan plateau. Cataracts, blindness, and vision failure are common not just among the elderly, but even for the middle-aged and younger. Obviously the extreme UV index can pose a problem for skin health as well, so I'd love to see some more work done with programs specifically addressing sun-damage awareness for both eye health and skin health. Maybe an organization like LensCrafters' Give the Gift of Sight program, but targeting the Himalayan region specifically (where incidence of preventable vision problems is high) and also putting a focus on comprehensive preventative health education.
If we're buying $90 pairs of sandals and designer glasses, the least we can do is make use of our old stuff when we don't want it anymore. So instead of throwing out your old shoes (or even keeping them in the closet thinking "Oh, maybe I'll need them if all of my other shoes get burned up in a house fire" when you KNOW you're done with those silly old 2005 Chacos and have a pair of the new model coming in the mail.
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Comment by Anonymous
Please visit Jatson Chumig School's web site at www.jatsontibet.org to learn more about the school and orphanage in Lhasa, Tibet