Washing Feet & Giving Shoes with My360Project

Some trips change the way you see your own work. This one did.

Recently, several members of the Cobian family traveled to Baja California, Mexico, to serve alongside the team from My360Project. John, Charley and Rebecca Cobian joined the group, and together we spent a day with a group of kids from an orphanage in San Quintin doing something that sounds almost too simple to matter: we washed the feet of more than twenty children, and then we gave each one a brand new pair of socks and shoes.

It turned out to be one of the most meaningful days any of us can remember.

 

Why This Matters to Us

At Cobian, we think about feet every day. We think about comfort, support and the simple pleasure of slipping on a pair of shoes that fit well and feel good. It's easy to treat all of that as a given.

For millions of children around the world, it isn't. My360Project estimates that 1.2 billion children don't have adequate shoes. Shoes that are too small, too large, worn through or unsafe leave children's feet exposed to injury and infection. In many communities, a child without proper footwear may also struggle to stay in school.

That's the gap My360Project exists to close, and it's why we were honored to be invited along.

Meet My360Project

My360Project is a humanitarian shoe organization and registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Middleton, Idaho. Its tagline says it plainly: Building Shoes, Impacting Lives.

What sets the organization apart is that it doesn't just hand out shoes. It builds them. Its artisans hand-build every pair, including the 360Mox and the newer 360Slide, using locally sourced materials. That means every pair a child receives also supports a job, a livable wage and valuable life skills for someone in the community. The work disrupts poverty on two fronts at once: the child who receives the shoes, and the person who made them.

Supporters help make this possible, too. A $35 donation provides a pair of shoes, and the organization's Baja trips have been running for ten years now, a milestone it's celebrating this year. Founder Darryl Carnley has said the goal is for kids to have shoes, but for it to be done correctly, with practical steps that help families succeed in their own communities.

 

A Day at the Orphanage in San Quintin

We met the My360Project team at an orphanage in San Quintin, a place full of children who were curious, shy, giggly and welcoming all at once. Before any shoes came out of a box, there was a simple, humbling ritual that sits at the heart of every My360Project trip: washing feet.

One by one, each child sat down. A volunteer knelt in front of them, gently washed and dried their feet, and then fitted them with fresh socks and a new, properly sized pair of shoes made by My360Project. Over the course of the day, our team did this for more than twenty children.

It's quiet work. There's no stage and no speeches. It's one person paying full attention to one child, and a child who gets to be the center of someone's care for a few minutes. My360Project describes it this way: a human touch can provide hope for the future. After seeing it firsthand, we couldn't agree more.

The shoes matter, of course. A child who has a pair that fits can run, play and walk to school with protected feet. But the washing is what turns a donation into a relationship. It says: you are seen, you are worth this time, and you are loved.

Service, Not Tourism

One thing we appreciated about My360Project is how clearly the organization defines what a trip like this is, and isn't. Its team is upfront that these trips are not a vacation. Volunteers are asked to come with a servant's mindset and to serve in a way that leaves the people of Baja feeling loved, not used.

That approach shaped our whole day. We weren't there to take photos for ourselves or to check a box. We were there to listen to the team, follow their lead and let the children set the pace. The My360Project crew has years of experience and strong relationships with the local community, and it showed in how naturally they made every child comfortable.

Salt + Light: Following the Example of Jesus

For us, this trip wasn't a one-off good deed. It's a picture of what our Salt + Light mission is all about.

Salt + Light is the framework behind how we run our business and serve our community. It draws on the physical elements of our surf and outdoor lifestyle, and on the symbolic meaning behind them: we want to use Cobian as a platform to radiate love, support people facing challenges and inspire others to do the same. The name comes from Jesus' words in Matthew 5:13-16.

In that passage, Jesus tells His followers that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt preserves and brings out flavor. Light shows up in dark places and can't be hidden. Then He states the purpose in verse 16: we are to "let your light shine before others" so that people see our good deeds and give glory to our Father in heaven. Our faith isn't meant to stay private. It's meant to show up in action, in ways that point people toward goodness and toward God.

The Towel and the Basin

That's why washing feet felt so fitting. In John 13, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus got up from supper, set aside His outer garment, wrapped a towel around Himself, poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet (John 13:4-5). It was the work of the lowest servant in the household, and He did it Himself. Peter was uncomfortable with it, as many of us would be.

When He finished, Jesus explained why. If their Lord and Teacher had washed their feet, He told them, then they ought to wash one another's feet, and He had given them an example to follow (John 13:14-15, NIV). He wasn't asking His disciples to recreate a ceremony. He was showing them what leadership looks like: humble, hands-on and willing to kneel.

My360Project builds its trips on that same example. Its team describes the work as driven by Jesus' example of servant leadership, which is why every child is welcomed with a basin of water before a pair of shoes ever comes out of the box.

 

Our Faith in Action

Kneeling in front of a child in San Quintin was the closest we've come to living out John 13 in a literal way. Salt + Light has always been about putting our faith into practice, and this was one of the clearest examples we've had.  In addition to the shoe project we were able to get in the ocean with some of the local kids and teach them how to surf.  The Cobian team is always trying to get in the water!

The My360Project is part of a longer story. Through our partnership with Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child, Cobian has donated more than 20,000 pairs of sandals to kids in need, and we're proud to count My360Project among the organizations we support. We want our business to be a way of enhancing the world through action, and of letting a little goodness show.

As Jesus put it, our good works aren't meant to point back to us. If a child in Baja felt seen and cared for for a few minutes while we washed their feet, then the light did what it was supposed to do.

What We Took Home

We expected to leave feeling like we had given something. What we didn't expect was how much we'd receive.

We came home with a deeper gratitude for the ordinary things: a pair of shoes that fits, a safe place to sleep, adults who show up. We also came home with renewed respect for the people doing this work year after year, the artisans who build every pair and the volunteers who travel south to put them on small feet.

And as a family, we came home closer. Serving side by side is a special way to spend time together, and it's one we'd encourage any family or team to try.

How You Can Be Part of It

You don't have to travel to Baja to make a difference, though you can. Here are a few ways to get involved with My360Project:

•       Sponsor shoes. A $35 gift puts a pair of handmade shoes on a child's feet. You can donate on the My360Project website or by texting "Shoes" to 24365.

•       Join a trip. My360Project runs trips to Baja throughout the year, and some are open to the general public while others are for private groups. Trips are based in Vicente Guerrero, about five hours south of San Diego, and cover lodging, meals, in-country transportation and travel insurance. A $300 deposit reserves your spot, and registration opens 3 to 6 months ahead. Reach out to kyle@my360project.org to learn more.

•       Host a shoe fundraiser. The team provides tips for people who want to rally their friends, church, school or workplace to sponsor shoes.

•       Spread the word. Share the story. The more people who know about the shoe gap, the more children can be reached.

To learn more, visit my360project.org

A heartfelt thank you to the My360Project team for welcoming us, to the staff and caregivers at the orphanage in San Quintin for opening their doors, and most of all to the children who let us wash their feet and share a little joy with them.

We left Baja with a simple reminder: sometimes the biggest impact starts with the smallest gesture, a basin of water, a clean pair of socks and a pair of shoes that fits.

We can't wait to go back.

Interested in how Cobian can support the mission? Get in touch with our team and let's talk.