T
he shoe industry is constantly finding creative ways to give back. Skechers did so in record-breaking fashion with its Pier Friendship Walk last Sunday. The event, supported by lead presenter Nickelodeon and new media sponsor NBC4 Southern California, successfully raised $1.6 million for children in special needs and education and reached an all-time high in the attendance of 12,000 people.
Celebrities at the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk included actress, model and long-time Skechers supporter Brooke Burke-Charvet; legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard; model and entrepreneur Camila Alves; actor Ian Ziering; mother/daughter fitness icons Denise and Katie Austin; and Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, a Walk Board of Director who has appeared every year.
The nation’s largest event supporting children with special needs and education, the walk has raised more than $7 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 third year of its scholarship program, and plans to donate $100,000 to deserving students across the country in 2017.
