SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk Raises More Than $1.8 Million for Kids
SKECHERS President Michael Greenberg, Brooke Burke-Charvet, and Sugar Ray Leonard walk to support children at SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk in Manhattan Beach, California. (Photo: Business Wire)
More than $1.8 million was raised for children with special needs and education at the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk. (Photo: Business Wire)
Sugar Ray Leonard, Brooke Burke-Charvet and Denise Austin Joined Lead Sponsors Nickelodeon and NBC4 Southern California to Support Children with Special Needs and Education
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The SKECHERS Foundation today announced that its 9th annual 2017 SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk raised more than $1.8 million for children with special needs and education, exceeding its $1.6 million goal. Supported by lead presenter Nickelodeon and media sponsor NBC4 Southern California, the Walk also reached a new attendance high with more than 13,000 walkers and participants.
SKECHERS President Michael Greenberg, Brooke Burke-Charvet, and Sugar Ray Leonard walk to support children at SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk in Manhattan Beach, California. (Photo: Business Wire)
Entertainment, sport and fitness celebrities at the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk included actress, model and longtime SKECHERS supporter Brooke Burke-Charvet, legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and fitness icon Denise Austin. The event also featured numerous teen celebrities, including appearances by This Is Us stars Logan Shroyer, Niles Fitch, Parker Bates and Mackenzie Hancsicsak, and special performances by recording artist Asia Monet; NBC’s Little Big Shots’ Kieran Tamondong; America’s Got Talent duo Artyon and Paige; Nickelodeon star Ciara Wilson; dance sensation Larsen Thompson; and actress/singer Jada Facer, who performed the National Anthem.
“I’ve been part of the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk for seven years now, because I love how SKECHERS has its heart in the right place – caring for what’s most important, our kids,” said Brooke Burke-Charvet. Our children deserve everything that we can give. And this walk has made such incredible strides – not just in bringing all of our children together, but our entire community.”
“This SKECHERS event is just fantastic,” added Hall of Fame coach Tommy Lasorda, who has been a Walk board member since its inception. “We had big dreams for it right from the beginning, and it’s great to see how it’s grown into the largest of its kind in California.”
“The SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk didn’t just have another record-breaking day; it’s grown into a year-round community-wide movement for our kids,” said Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. “People have such an incredible devotion to our children, and that love really came through at our walk.
“We already have people excited and inspired by our event, asking how they can take part next year, and donations coming in to support our 2018 walk. And with next year being our walk’s 10-year milestone, we know that it will be our best ever. We look forward to launching our year-long celebration campaign and continuing this incredible momentum we have for our special anniversary walk next October.”
The SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk has raised more than $8 million since its 2009 launch. Funds support The Friendship Foundation, an organization that assists children with special needs and their families through one-on-one peer mentoring, social recreational programming, field trips and sporting events, as well as education foundations committed to retaining vital academic programs, maintaining smaller class sizes, improving libraries, and upgrading school technology. The SKECHERS Foundation is also entering the fourth year of its scholarship program, and plans to donate $100,000 to deserving students across the country in 2018.
In addition to its headlining sponsor Nickelodeon and media sponsor NBC4 Southern California, the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk thanks sponsors Mattel, Moose Toys, The Claudette & Ethan Rickett Care Foundation, Wells Fargo, Ross, Steel Partners, Premier Displays & Exhibits, United Legwear & Underwear Co., Velocity Sports Performance, Vertra, and many others who have provided funds and support to provide a better future for children. To learn more about the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, please visit skechersfriendshipwalk.com or facebook.com/SKECHERSFriendshipWalk.
ABOUT SKECHERS Foundation
The SKECHERS Foundation was established to provide families around the world with the necessities and skills to succeed in life. In addition to organizing the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, the SKECHERS Foundation funds tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that provide education and job training, shoes, clothing, fitness and nutrition guidance to communities in need.
ABOUT The Friendship Foundation
The Friendship Foundation is a non-profit organization that assists children with special needs and their families through one-on-one peer mentoring and social recreational programming (www.gotfriends.com).
About SKECHERS USA, Inc.
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States and over 160 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 2,438 SKECHERS Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia and the Middle East, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, throughout Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit skechers.com and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERS) and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the uncertainty of sustained recovery in Europe; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2017. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.
SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Jennifer Clay, 310.937.1326
Source: SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Released Nov 9, 2017 • 6:01 pm EST