Sandy Hook Promise is applauding the global online fashion retailer and agent of change Toms for its commitment to supporting gun violence prevention with its new initiative to engage customers to demand universal background checks and the $5 million donation to fund organizations doing work on the ground.

According to a report from the The Council of Fashion Designers of America Inc (CFDA), Toms founder Blake Mycoskie is a pioneer in philanthropy and conscious commerce in fashion.

Appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the CFDA member kicked off a new campaign to end gun violence with a $5 million donation to organizations committed to the cause and an innovative digital program. Wearing an “End Gun Violence Together” T-shirt, he traced the path that led him to this point in an emotional and poignant interview.

“When I decided to start Toms, I said that if we sell a pair of shoes today, we are going to give a pair of shoes tomorrow,” Mr Mycoskie told Mr Fallon. Twelve years on, 86 million children have a pair of shoes thanks to Toms.

The CFDA report indicates that Toms will continue to give shoes, while also focusing resources to causes and the most important issues of our time.

“We are going to start by giving $5 million to the most amazing organizations who are working hard on the ground every day to end gun violence,” Mycoskie said, “This will be the single-largest corporate gift to end gun violence in the history of the United States.”

Partners are BBGVPC, Everytown for Gun Safety, Faith in Action, Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence, LiveFree, March for Our Lives, and Moms Demand Action.

Mr Mycoskie was also able to develop a technology that allows visitors to toms.com to send a physical postcard to their representative urging them to pass universal background checks. The process to complete that congressional message takes less than 30 seconds, the CFDA states.

Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy said she is “proud of Toms for adding gun violence prevention to the list of ways their company is improving the lives of our global community.”

“In the 24 hours surrounding the Toms announcement, shootings in Chicago, Denver, and Missouri — in ‘safe’ places, including a hospital and religious supply store — made national news,” Ms Hockley continued. “Yet according to the Gun Violence Prevention Archive, more than 40 other shootings took place across the nation yesterday alone. The need for gun violence prevention measures grows daily. We know universal background checks work to prevent people who pose a serious danger to themselves and others from accessing firearms. Alongside our Know the Signs programs, backgrounds checks save lives and can stop a tragedy before it can begin.”

To date, more than 5.5 million people have been trained in Sandy Hook Promise’s proven Know the Signs programs that are designed to bring about the greater good and end the epidemic of gun violence through the identification of at-risk behavior and intervention to get help.

Through these signature programs, Sandy Hook Promise has averted multiple school shooting plots, several teen suicides, and countless other acts of violence.

“I applaud Toms founder Blake Mycoski and his executives for stepping up to help stop the epidemic of gun violence in our country. We need preventative measures — such as universal background checks — to keep our children and families safe, and I’m happy that Toms is taking the lead to push for the change we need,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and the father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.

To learn more or to send a postcard, visit www.toms.com.