April 5, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A student group at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is challenging its peers to go "One Day Without Shoes" Thursday, April 8 to focus attention on the plight of children in developing countries who grow up barefoot.

UAB students will gather in their bare feet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Campus Green, located on University Boulevard between 14th and 16th streets South.

"To live in a country where so many people do have shoes, it's hard to think about a country of individuals going without something this basic," said UAB senior Joshua Wilson, a vice-president of the UAB Public Relations Council of Alabama/Public Relations Student Society of America (PRCA/PRSSA), which is organizing the event.

"Shoes help protect people from contracting viruses and diseases, so they're very important."

The UAB PRCA/PRSSA is a student organization that represents public relations and communication students in the UAB Department of Communication Studies. TOMS Shoes, a company that gives away a pair of shoes to a child in a developing country for every pair of shoes purchased, is the event sponsor.

The event is being held in partnership with UAB Films and Novelties. For more information, contact Wilson at 205-587-1555.

About the Department of Communication Studies

The UAB Department of Communication Studies offers bachelor and graduate degrees in communication management and bachelor degrees in mass communication with specialization in journalism, broadcasting and public relations.