A Bit About Me

WHY I CREATED TOESTY

Hello! I am Madison Riley, university student and founder of TOESTY.
I lived in the Balkans (Kosovo & Albania) as a religious missionary for a year and a half from January 2015 through Summer 2016.
I spent my days serving, working alongside, and falling in love with the wonderful, generous Albanian people and the beautiful country they call home.
Spending a majority of my time in rural villages, I was exposed to the extreme poverty affecting many wonderful families in this post-communist state.
As a U.S. citizen, with my abundance of opportunity and freedom, I couldn’t simply return home and FORGET about the people I met and the things I saw.
Using my education and experiences as a stable foundation to put myself in a position to help, I created this non-profit to bring hope and much-needed help to the families I care for so much.
I want these people to be rewarded for their diligent work efforts and commitment to do their own part to improve the difficult situations.
I am simply making it possible for their traditional wool socks to be sold at higher prices here in the U.S., with all profits making it directly back to those who made them.
Thank-you to all who are supporting me with this vision, looking forward to seeing what will come of it all. <3
(Note: all photos on this website are my own, with the exception of the Mother Teresa portrait, and Sophia Shaw Photo feature on the Product Preview page )