Giving Back and Trying to Make the World a Better Place...Just a Little at a Time

by: Tracy M. De Soto, Mother, CFO, Attorney, Lead Femme Designer, & Triathlete

Ever since I was a wee girl, I knew in my heart that to be fulfilled, I needed to help others.  I recall collecting change to help the poor at about the age of five.  In college, I participated in many volunteer organizations like Habitat for Humanity, soup kitchens, and collecting winter wear for the shelterless in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Brrr....!).  One of my passions, besides triathlon, is giving, and I have the luxury today of taking my career as an attorney and giving back to children who need an advocate in court.  I am blessed to be able to be his or her attorney and to help guide them. 

It doesn't stop there! Over the past twenty-nine years, De Soto Sport has given donations to hundreds of organizations. This year in 2018, for #givingtuesday, we gave to Unicef to help the many children who are starving due to the civil conflict and the port being closed.  We choose a few that are close to our heart or are especially in need. We have helped with major catastrophes. Many of you may remember the tsunami in Thailand in 2005. We donated $5,000 in product for an auction to raise money for survivors. More recently, we produced jerseys with Tri 4 Japan. We were able to send the tsunami victims more than $30,000. In December of 2016, De Soto Sport donated over $25,000 of wetsuits to Challenged Athlete Foundation.

This past year, we organized a shoe drive for the victims of the United States hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Houston and Florida. Internationally, we chose to focus on the human rights crisis in Syria. For every order placed on #givingtuesday we donated to the American Syrian Medical Association. They are on the front line, innovating and building underground hospitals to provide medical care to Syrians. This donation was a personal one for Emilio and me, and a business donation from De Soto Sport.

It's important to us, at De Soto Sport, to look beyond ourselves, and to leave the world in a better place.  We have all heard the saying: What do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered? For us, we want to be known for the best customer service, high-quality triathlon product, and a small business that cares to help to make lives better.