Harsh weather conditions kept many students at Point Park University with covered feet, but some still braved the elements and went shoeless on Tuesday to participate in TOMS “One Day Without Shoes” event.The purpose of walking around barefoot is to raise awareness of those children who are not fortunate enough to own a pair of shoes. TOMS Shoes set the date as April 5 for people around the world to participate and experience life without footwear.The Body Christian Fellowship, sponsored the event at Point Park, where people were encouraged to take on the challenge.Natalie Harvey, senior liberal studies major, explained how the club got its inspiration to participate in the event from Jubilee, a Christian college students conference held from Feb. 18 to 20, 2011. Held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Jubilee housed many vendors, one being TOMS Shoes. Harvey was informed of the “One Day Without Shoes” campaign at this booth and decided then that Point Park should join in on the cause.Harvey, among other students, left her shoes off to help prove a point. Despite emphasizing the event prior to the day, she was still surprised when it arrived.”It didn’t really hit me until I woke up this morning and thought, ‘I’m really about to walk to school and go all day and not bring a pair of shoes,'” Harvey said.Weather conditions proved to work against the event. Sarah Garren, a junior dance and sport, arts and entertainment management major, explained that given the rain and temperatures in the 30s, the majority of students opted out of participating.”Most people have been deterred by the weather but a lot of people know about TOMS Shoes, which is awesome because ultimately that’s the goal for today,” Gaarren said. “It’s not really to get people to walk without shoes for a day. It’s to get people to buy TOMS and support the cause.”TOMS Shoes promises that with each pair of shoes purchased from the company, a pair will be donated to a child in need. Their “One for One” campaign has led to over 1 million pairs of shoes being given away as of September 2010.While people may be confused as to why TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie chose shoes to focus his efforts on, the TOMS 2010 Giving Report states, “shoes have been shown to be a fundamental resource for protecting children from rough terrain, infection and soil-based diseases.”The event at Point Park provided an opportunity for students to work together towards a common goal. Angela Semple, a freshman cinema and digital arts major, explained how her Community Facilitator on the Global Perspectives floor used this event as a floor activity. She believes that “One Day Without Shoes” is a unique yet simplistic way to get attention.”The issue with a lack of shoes is a great thing to raise awareness about and it’s very different,” Semple said. “It’s not fasting or just raising money for people. Instead, it’s doing something that anyone can do.”While the outcome of participants of the event on campus was not massive, people still took notice. They spoke with The Body members and took information both from postcards and videos that were located on an information table.Brianna Bennett, a sophomore sport, arts and entertainment major, took the event as a learning opportunity. Despite the attention she sees throughout the world concerning lack of food and water, she had not taken notice to just how much she relied on footwear.”It’s something that part of your everyday life and you never realize how important they actually are until you go a day without shoes,” Bennett said.