Ashley Olson created a TOMS Club at her high school as her senior project. The club helped raise awareness about TOMS, a company that donates a pair of shoes for every pair purchased. The club had its first meeting in February and held an event for One Day Without Shoes in April, where students wore medical shoe covers instead of being barefoot for safety reasons. Olson encountered challenges like finding a sponsor for the club and scheduling around sports but was able to solve these problems. She sees the project as a success and hopes it will continue after she graduates. Olson plans to apply for a TOMS internship and start her own business in the future to help people around the world.

1. 1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
April 19, 2012
Judges, Senior Project
Creekview High School
1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
Dear Judges:
My name is Ashley Olson. In the fall, I will attend Lake Erie College, located in Ohio. I
intend to major in modern foreign language and become a translator in the business
world. My goal is to travel as much as possible. For instance, this summer I am going to
go on a trip to India with a friend to experience a new culture. Humanity and compassion
are extremely important to me. It is for this reason that I chose to do my senior project on
TOMS shoes, a company that gives a pair of shoes for every pair purchased.
My product is a club at Creekview High School. Through my research, I learned a great
deal about Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes and his mission to help children
globally. The research behind my product was not vital to its success, but I did learn
about the different types of diseases and hardships that over 40% of the world population
endures, simply because they do not own shoes. These facts aided discussion during club
meetings and discussions with students about TOMS. The first TOMS Club meeting was
not until February and the second major event took place on April 10th, for One Day
without Shoes. TOMS has created an international day of awareness called One Day
without Shoes to help promote the One for One movement in a fun and different way.
With the cooperation of Dr. Eddy, the principal here at Creekview, I was able to host a
One Day without Shoes celebration of my own. Throughout the stages of creating my
product, I encountered problems from the very beginning. In order to start a club at
Creekview, I needed to find a club sponsor. Being a new student at Creekview in August,
I did not have any relationships with any teachers and did not have anyone to ask.
Thankfully, Mrs. Hamilton stepped forward and agreed to sponsor my club, thus making
her my project facilitator, as well. Another problem I encountered was conflicting times. I
planned to hold the TOMS club meetings after school, but after a very lonely first
meeting, I realized that spring sports were well under way. I solved this problem by
effectively advertising TOMS club and asking students about what time would best fit in
with their busy schedules.Another problem regarded One Day without Shoes. For
obvious safety reasons, Dr. Eddy could not allow students to walk around barefoot. Mrs.
Hamilton and I came up with the solution of wearing medical shoe covers, which Dr.
Eddy supported. Overall, I consider my senior product a success and hope that it will
continue next year, even after I graduate.
TOMS is a great movement and seems like a great business. TOMS offers a paid
internship to college students and I plan to apply this summer. Besides obvious career

2. opportunities at TOMS, there are many possibilities of creating my own business with
giving incorporated into the business model. After reading Blake Mycoskie’s book
entitled “Start something that Matters,” I have been inspired to start my own business to
help people in need. As I stated previously, I love culture and I consider myself
compassionate. I hope that these qualities will allow me to pursue my new goal of
helping people around the world, by starting my own charity.
Senior Project was beneficial, in my opinion. I learned a lot of helpful skills and made
some new friends. Although time-consuming and somewhat stressful, I feel as though
Senior Project helped me decide what I want to do in the future. I plan on submitting an
application to be an intern at TOMS while in college. Thank you so much for the time
you have invested into Senior Project.
Sincerely,
Ashley Olson