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Sep 8, 2007

"When your fear touches someone's pain, it becomes pity. When your love touches someone's pain, it becomes compassion." --Stephen Levine

Argentina Shoe Drop

Blake Mycoskie wanted to get away from it all. After founding and running four businesses and losing by a sliver on The Amazing Race, he escaped last January to Argentina, where he learned to sail, dance the tango and play competitive polo. He also visited impoverished villages where few, if any, children had shoes. "I was sitting on a field on a farm one day, and I had an epiphany," says Mycoskie, who had taken to wearing alpargatas--resilient, lightweight slip-on shoes with a breathable canvas top and soft leather insole traditionally worn by Argentine workers. "I said, I'm going to start a shoe company, and for every pair I sell, I'm going to give one pair to a kid in need." After selling his first 10,000 pairs, he went to Argentina to give away 10,000 pairs. See what happened.