Shoeless Jeff’s footwork fueling vital fundraising
Brodsky stays barefoot to fight human trafficking
Have you ever stepped on a Lego while barefoot? Spoiler: It hurts.
Now, imagine stepping on a Lego every day for eight years. That’s basically what Jeff Brodsky has done to raise awareness and money for victims of childhood human trafficking.
Eight years ago, on July 19, 2010, Brodsky, a doctor of divinity from Promise Christian University, was doing humanitarian work in Cambodia when he witnessed a group of children living in a garbage dump with no shoes.
“I just couldn’t get the image of their barefoot feet in that sludge out of my head,” he said.
So, that night he made a yearlong commitment to give up shoes and socks to live barefoot in solidarity with the children.
“It had nothing to do with raising funds,” Brodsky said. “It was just really personal to me. I never expected for it to become a fundraiser. When I came home, everyone thought I was insane.”
After a year of being shoeless, he just couldn’t bring himself to end his barefoot journey when he knew the problem still existed. So, he’s been barefoot with no exceptions for eight whole years.
“I hate being barefoot, I really do,” he said. “Try walking on pavement in 105 degrees or in the snow. The pain in unbelievable. I can’t believe I’ve gone eight years barefoot, but I do this to motivate people to action.”
Brodsky’s barefootedness has motivated hundreds of people to take action through an event called the Barefoot Mile. Participants walk barefoot to bring awareness and raise funds for the rescue of child slaves. The walks raise money for Brodsky’s organization — Joy International, which helps rescue sex slaves from around the world. Since its founding in 1981, Brodsky and his team have rescued more than 2,000 people and raised more than $500,000, he said. Joy International also travels the world to train people, such as police and airport employees, to spot the signs of human trafficking and report incidents.
Brodsky and his team at Joy International have held Barefoot Miles across the world. And on Saturday, Brodsky is holding yet another walk in Littleton. The walks can raise up to $200,000 and when they travel out of Colorado, the Barefoot Mile gives half its donations to a local partner organization that also fights human trafficking.
Brodsky started humanitarian work in 1979 when he decided to travel the world as “Snuggles the Love Clown.” As Snuggles, he worked with Food for the Hungry to connect with communities in underdeveloped countries. He said he was even invited to work with Mother Teresa at the Home for Children and the Home for the Destitute and Dying in Calcutta, India.
“I was just traveling the world as a clown to bring people joy who knew no joy,” Brodsky said.
Decades later, Brodsky is still passionate about saving children around the world. And despite the cuts on his feet, he says he can’t imagine ever wearing shoes again.
“As long as my going barefoot will motivate one person a year to action to help me save more children, I’ll go barefoot the rest of my life,” Brodsky said.