Haley Libak/The Falcon Sophomore Abigail McPhearson wears her olive green plaid TOMS shoes.

As the weather heats up, SPU students are trading in their rain boots and wool socks for cooler footwear. In addition to all of the sandals, sneakers, and bare feet seen this spring, there is a new brand of shoe being worn that brings both fashion and philanthropy to SPU.

TOMS shoes are laceless slip-ons that come in a variety of colors and designs. The shape of the shoe is based off of the rope-soled "alpargata" shoes worn by workers in Argentina. These fun and colorful shoes represent more than a cause for fashion. They are also part of a charity that donates shoes to children who cannot afford shoes. For every pair you purchase, another pair is donated to a child in need.

TOMS Shoes was started by former "Amazing Race" contestant Blake Mycoskie on a recent vacation/volunteer trip to South America. According to the TOMS Web site, Mycoskie was deeply moved by the stories he heard of children who had to suffer cuts and infections on their feet simply because they could not afford shoes.

In a YouTube video, Mycoskie states that he first conceived the idea on February 26, 2006. In just six months, 10,000 pairs were already sold. For the first "shoe drop," Mycoskie and his crew traveled back to Argentina where the design and concept of the shoe were originally inspired.

In his first drop, he made sure that each shoe was not just handed to the child, but that shoes were physically put on the child's feet. In November 2007, Mycoskie and his crew traveled to South Africa to drop another 50,000 shoes.

Haley Libak/The Falcon Sophomore Katie Talbot wears her gold stripe TOMS shoe

TOMS Shoes has gained so much attention that what was originally made to be a small business has turned into a full-time company producing shoes to put in stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Urban Outfitters.

Each pair of shoes costs $38.

Go online to http://tomsshoedrop.blogspot.com/ to read more about the trips, or to learn more about TOMS, visit http://www.tomsshoes.com.

Haley Libak/The Falcon Sophomore Alex McCauley wears his blue TOMS shoes.