Wear and Share

Sam Lewis was a University of Florida junior when he had what he calls his “brick-wall epiphany.” He was determining the next 30-40 years of his life. Says Lewis: “It was a concrete wall I couldn't pass through without making a decision.”

He sought a future that was financially stable, but one that also satisfied his desire to help people. “It was literally me asking myself, 'WTF?' in its common, explicit form of, 'What am I doing with my life?'” Lewis recalls.

He researched opportunities that could provide a mix of purpose, profit, innovation and adventure. For-profit business models that were cause-motivated, such as Tom's Shoes, sparked Lewis's inspiration, and that's how he and his brother, Joshua Lewis, created Wear the Fund in 2010. Tom's Shoes donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes it sells, what the company calls One for One.