MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California’s largest walk for children with special needs and education, the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk launches its second decade with a $2 million fundraising goal, jet-setting prizes and a live performance starring this season’s America’s Got Talent winner Kodi Lee, the blind and autistic singing sensation whose phenomenal musical talents have captivated the world. Together with presenting sponsor Nickelodeon, media sponsor NBC4 and Walk veterans like Sugar Ray Leonard, the Skechers Foundation aims to continue the Walk’s record-breaking streak of donations for children of all ages and abilities.
The 11th annual event on October 27th will also feature SpongeBob’s 20th anniversary with SpongeBob, Patrick and Friends; business class ticket sweepstakes sponsored by Turkish Airlines, the Walk’s new official airline partner; and an adopt-a-pet center sponsored by the Petco Foundation and Los Angeles County animal shelters.
“We’re thrilled to have Kodi perform at the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, just days before headlining his America’s Got Talent LIVE! tour. Our Walk is the perfect venue to celebrate his AGT victory as we inspire, educate and raise funds for kids with special needs and students,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers and the Skechers Foundation. “The dedication of returning legends like Sugar Ray Leonard and generous organizations like Nickelodeon and NBC4 have helped us reach incredible donation milestones for kids: last year, we raised $2 million, and through their continued support, we hope to pass that number this year.”
“We’ve proudly supported the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk for eight years because this mission is so synchronous with our values as an organization,” added Jennifer Tracy, senior vice president of Activation at Viacom Velocity. “When events like this are bolstered by their communities and become annual traditions, the kids get to reap the great benefits all year—and we’re excited to be part of this incredible movement.”
Attendees at this year’s Walk will include celebrities like Hall of Fame baseball legend Tommy Lasorda and Denise Austin; NBC4 investigative reporter and opening program emcee Lolita Lopez; and the casts of Brat’s Chicken Girls and Nickelodeon’s Knight Squad and All That reboot—along with numerous YouTubers, Nickelodeon and Disney network stars and performances by World of Dance star Ayden Nguyen, Malea Emma, and Disney Channel’s favorite rapper, Issac Ryan Brown.
Donations from the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk support The Friendship Foundation, public schools and scholarship funds for exceptional students. The Friendship Foundation assists children with special needs and their families through one-on-one peer mentoring and social recreational activities such as summer camps, outings to sporting events and classes that include music, yoga, cooking, art and drama. The event also helps education foundations maintain and enhance their schools in areas like technology, music, and science, from reducing class sizes and updating labs, libraries and facilities to protecting teachers’ jobs. The Skechers Foundation’s national scholarship program awards $100,000 annually to students who have financial need and proven excellence in academics, athletics and leadership.
The 3.4-mile Walk will start at the Manhattan Beach Pier at 9AM, where participants will walk to the Hermosa Beach Pier and back. The event will also feature bounce houses, kids’ activities and giveaways—and event followers can win prizes on social media now through the day of the Walk. To register or make a donation, visit skechersfriendshipwalk.com or follow the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERSFriendshipWalk), Instagram (instagram.com/skechersp2pwalk) and Twitter (twitter.com/SkechersP2PWalk).
In addition to headlining sponsor Nickelodeon, media sponsor NBC4 and new airline sponsor Turkish Airlines, the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk thanks all of its sponsors, including United Legwear & Apparel, McCarthy Construction, KCI General Contractors, Moose Toys, Kinecta Federal Credit Union, Petco Foundation, Steel Sports, The CET Foundation, Vertra, Ross Stores, Chevron, DreamWorks, Dakine, Aptos Retail, Continental Development, Mattel, Marshalls, OLIPOP, LA Kings, WSS and more than 100 other companies who have supported our children.
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 Skechers USA, Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers (NYSE: SKX) 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 170 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 3,170 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, Israel and Mexico, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, and throughout Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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 challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; 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, 2018, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2019. 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 operations 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.
