MANILA, Philippines. The simple things
in life are oftentimes
taken for granted. To
some people, tangible
objects like clothes,
bags, or shoes are normal commodities that
they can easily buy and
eventually dispose of
at will. Meanwhile, millions of people around
the world, specifically
children, walk barefoot
as they lack financial
resources to avail themselves of decent foot-wear.
According to a
2017 article by William
Blischke, an American
Sociology professor at
the California State University Dominguez Hills,
14% of the earth’s inhabitants lack shoes or
have inadequate footwear. He adds that in
some developing countries, shoeless children
cannot attend school
because they may communicate and contract
diseases from their foot
sores. This is why some
international non-profit
organizations claim that
shoes, or the lack thereof, are one of the most
visible signs of poverty.
In the Philippines,
there is no available academic study that justifies Filipino children’s
actual lack of shoes.
However, this phenomenon can be substantiated by the 2023 report of
the Department of Education, which states that
one of the most pressing
issues in the basic education system is the lack
of access to resources. Since school shoes
are an integral part of
a student’s uniform
even in public schools,
it will be difficult for
less-privileged families
to purchase them. Thus,
leaving children with no
choice but to either use
their old and ill-fitting
shoes, or worse, walk
barefoot – just to complete their education.
This is the challenge
that the SM Store intends
to address through the
Share Shoes campaign –
to provide school shoes
to the poverty-stricken
students of the Philippines. In line with the
celebration of SM’s 65th
founding anniversary
and through the help
of its dedicated customers and partner-organizations, SM Store
aims to donate more
than sixteen thousand
(16,000+) pairs of shoes
to the last-mile schools
and communities in the
country. With a minimum of Three Thousand Pesos (P3,000)
single-receipt-spend at
any SM Store, a customer is entitled to donate
a pair of shoes, which
originally retails for
P299, for only Sixty Five
Pesos (P65.00) and shall
be considered as a Share
Shoes Champion.
In a statement, Mr.
Dhinno S Tiu, Executive
Vice President of SM
Store, exemplifies the
value and symbolism of
shoes for both SM and
its advocacy to support
the community:
“Shoes have been
the core of our business
for over 65 years. Thus,
giving out thousands of
shoes to the Filipino children who need them the
most through the generosity of our customers,
is a symbolic gesture of
our commitment to continue to live the legacy of
sharing and giving back
to our partner communities.”
More than a material donation, SM Store
hopes that these pairs
of shoes would help
the children’s journey
towards a better life.
Through a simple act
of giving, these underprivileged children will
be able to learn, play,
and flourish in school.
And by protecting their
young feet, time will
come when they can
confidently step, walk,
run, and even leap towards their individual
goals and dreams.
Shop at your favorite SM Store from
September 1, 2023 to
November 15, 2023 to
support a child in need.
For only P65, you can
help transform a life
by being a Share Shoes
Champion! Help us put
shoes on a child’s feet
and together, let us witness how they walk
through life with smiles
on their faces. (Per DTI
Fair Trade Permit No.
FTEB-172377, Series of
2023).(KCHT)