Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk Celebrates 15th Anniversary With More Than $3 Million Raised for Kids
The 15th Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk raised more than $3 million for children with varying abilities and education. On stage (L to R): Friendship Foundation member Yousef Hassan; Mr. T; Brooke Burke; Skechers Walk Founder Michael Greenberg; Amanda Kloots; CEO of Kinecta Keith Sultemeier; Robin Curren, Executive Director of the Skechers Foundation; and Yossi Mintz, Founder of the Friendship Foundation. (Photo: Ian Logan Photography)
Skechers Walk Founder Michael Greenberg joins longtime Friendship Foundation member Jacob Dominguez at the 2023 Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk in Manhattan Beach, CA. (Photo: Ian Logan Photography)
Presented by Kinecta Federal Credit Union, the Annual Event Broke Records and Will Help Thousands of Children with Diverse Needs, Public Education and Scholarships
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk celebrated its 15th anniversary event with more than $3 million raised for children with special needs, public education, and national scholarships—totaling over $24 million in donations since its inception in 2009. Thousands of registrants contributed to these causes at the milestone event, which was supported by Presenting Sponsor Kinecta Federal Credit Union and over 100 generous businesses and donors, and featured Brooke Burke, Mr. T and Amanda Kloots along with performances from Young Selena singer and America’s Got Talent golden buzzer winner Madison Taylor Baez, Team Siwa’s pop group XOMG POP! and teen group FuturePop.
The 15th Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk raised more than $3 million for children with varying abilities and education. On stage (L to R): Friendship Foundation member Yousef Hassan; Mr. T; Brooke Burke; Skechers Walk Founder Michael Greenberg; Amanda Kloots; CEO of Kinecta Keith Sultemeier; Robin Curren, Executive Director of the Skechers Foundation; and Yossi Mintz, Founder of the Friendship Foundation. (Photo: Ian Logan Photography)
“I am very fortunate to have a platform to do good, and to be part of an organization at Skechers and the community of the South Bay that believes in giving back. It’s been my greatest joy to make a difference through philanthropy, especially the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk,” said Michael Greenberg, founder of the Walk. “For over 15 years, I’ve seen thousands of our children form friendships, mature into young adults, realize their purpose, set out into the world—all the way knowing that we are here for them, behind them. The Walk has been such a beautiful and moving day to be part of, year after year—from seeing all the walkers to our generous celebrities and volunteers to incredible organizations like Kinecta and companies with so much heart—all here to uplift our kids. I’m deeply grateful for this experience—I know we’re helping future generations, and I encourage every community to do the same. I always say, ‘give until it hurts.’ But really, seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces, it just feels good.”
“This walk is about the power of friendship, which is actually quite profound when you think about it,” added fitness encourager and television host Brooke Burke. “Friendship is the thread that connects every human. It inspires us to make the impossible possible. And it’s the constant I’ve seen over the 12 years I’ve supported this walk. From the parents, neighbors and kids to the engaged sponsors and performers, athletes and icons who have graced this stage, everyone is here to celebrate friendship year after year.”
“This is my first time here, and what a thrill it’s been,” added actor and icon Mr. T. “Every kid has room to grow—there are no ceilings to what any person can learn and achieve. And what an amazing, special day this community has made to help them on their way. The energy and enthusiasm at this event is incredible. This Walk’s going to keep celebrating for 15 more years and beyond—and I’m so happy to be part of this beautiful legacy of love for our kids.”
Historically California’s largest event for children with special needs and education, the 3.5-mile Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk supports the future Friendship Campus (The Greenberg Family / Skechers Center)—a $55 million, 3.25-acre campus that will offer a life-changing community for friendship and learning. Planned for completion by year-end 2025, the facility will include numerous vocational programs including a Creative Arts Center, Culinary Institute, Recreation Center, Life Skills programming, and early education and mentoring opportunities, giving young adults the tools to transition to the workforce and find lifelong passion and purpose.
The Campus will also be home to the new headquarters for the Friendship Foundation, which offers companionship, celebrates uniqueness and encourages acceptance for all with diverse abilities. The organization offers over 60 in-person programs such as art, music, fitness, sign language, science, social emotional wellness and yoga, as well as pop-up programs like virtual scavenger hunts and talent shows that are free for anyone to attend locally and across the United States.
Academically, the Walk supports public school education foundations—reducing class sizes, updating labs, libraries and facilities and protecting teachers’ jobs. The Skechers Foundation’s national scholarship program also gives a portion of Walk proceeds to students with financial need and proven excellence in academics, athletics and leadership, donating more than $1.1 million in scholarships to date.
The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk thanks Presenting Sponsor Kinecta Federal Credit Union and all of its sponsors, including Nickelodeon, Rare Beauty, Schwartz Family Foundation, Steel Sports, United Legwear & Apparel Co., Big 5 Sporting Goods, Petco Love, TJX Companies, Chevron, Bank of America, Ross Stores, Barco, Dakine, Vertra, LA Kings, LA Dodgers, McCarthy, LA Angels, Continental Development, WSS, Turkish Airlines, Cushman & Wakefield and many more companies that are committed to supporting our children.
To watch this year’s Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk and learn more about the event, please visit skechersfriendshipwalk.com or YouTube, and follow the Walk on Facebook, X and Instagram.
About Skechers Foundation
Established in 2010 to help children in need, the Skechers Foundation is dedicated to strengthening communities to ensure the health, success and well-being of youth worldwide. We invest in a global network of charitable organizations dedicated to embracing individuals with diverse abilities, improving education, empowering disadvantaged families and providing humanitarian, disaster and economic relief. By supporting millions through our products and services, we aspire to make a valiant effort in creating stronger, self-sufficient individuals for future generations.
About Skechers USA, Inc.
Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a Fortune 500® company based in Southern California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Collections from The Comfort Technology Company™ are available in 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through digital stores and over 4,900 Company- and third-party-owned physical retail stores. The Company manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
About Kinecta Federal Credit Union
Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, Kinecta Federal Credit Union is one of the country's largest credit unions, with assets of $6.7 billion and more than 270,000 members from coast to coast. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with additional branches in New York, New Jersey, Northern California and Florida, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products from banking, lending and insurance to wealth management services. Kinecta has been recognized by the Mortgage Bankers Association as a recipient of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Residential Leadership Award, and received the Best of Show award granted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Technology Council. Residents of Rochester, NY, voted Kinecta as a finalist for Best Credit Union in the Democrat & Chronicle’s annual Rochester Choice Awards in 2022. Forbes awarded Kinecta as a top-ranked credit union in California on its America's Best Credit Unions in Each State 2022 List. Kinecta has 29 branches, and its members can use a network of more than 5,800 shared branches and access over 85,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide. For more information on Kinecta, visit the website and LinkedIn.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may 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,” “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 the disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; delays or disruptions in our supply chain; international economic, political and market conditions including the effects of inflation and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations around the world, the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States, and the impact of wars, acts of war and other conflicts around the world; 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, 2022 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q in 2023. Taking these and other risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, the dynamic nature of these circumstances means that what is stated in this press release could change at any time, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. 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 we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business 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.
Jennifer Clay
SKECHERS USA
jennc@skechers.com
(310) 937-1326
Source: Skechers Foundation
Released Nov 1, 2023 • 12:00 pm EDT