MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk continued the Skechers Foundation’s 11-year tradition of record-breaking donations for kids—raising more than $2.2 million for children with special needs and education at Sunday’s event, and more than $13 million in total since its start. Supported by lead presenter Nickelodeon, media sponsor NBC4 Southern California, airline sponsor Turkish Airlines and generous businesses, the event launched its second decade with a special performance by this season’s America’s Got Talent winner, global superstar Kodi Lee; returning sports legends Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Lasorda; and more than 17,000 registered walkers.
“Heck yeah, Skechers Pier to Pier Walk… it feels so awesome to be a superstar… I love it when they chanted Kodi!” exclaimed Kodi Lee at the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk.
Added mother Tina Lee: “Kodi’s win at America’s Got Talent wasn’t just a victory for him, the whole world won—it was also a win for every person who looked past his blindness and autism and saw the true talent that he is. It’s an honor for him to be at the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, because this event really uplifts, normalizes and embraces our children. It celebrates them for who they really are—not just as people with special needs, but as incredible individuals who can have a lasting impact.”
“Kodi’s an amazing global icon and role model for each and every one of us,” said Michael Greenberg, co-founder of the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk. “He’s helped change the world this year for the better in such a seismic way—and every child in our community has that same potential, thanks in part to the more than $2.2 million that this Walk has raised. From the Friendship Foundation’s programs, classes and dozens of regional school clubs, to our college scholarships and the new classes, facilities and technology we’re bringing to our schools, our Walk is transforming thousands of lives with every step.”
Since 2009, the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk has raised more than $13 million for 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.
Celebrity attendees at this year’s Walk included fitness guru Denise Austin; NBC4 investigative reporter and opening program emcee Lolita Lopez; and the casts of Brat’s Chicken Girls; Nickelodeon’s Knight Squad and All That reboot; as well as numerous YouTubers, Nickelodeon and Disney network stars. Fans celebrated SpongeBob’s 20th anniversary with SpongeBob, Patrick and Friends and enjoyed performances by World of Dance star Ayden Nguyen, Malea Emma, and Disney Channel’s favorite rapper, Issac Ryan Brown. New attractions included a business class ticket sweepstakes event sponsored by Turkish Airlines, and a pet adoption center sponsored by the Petco Foundation and Los Angeles County animal shelters.
The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk thanks its headlining sponsor Nickelodeon, media sponsor NBC4 and new airline sponsor Turkish Airlines, along with all of its generous 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.
To learn more about the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, please visit skechersfriendshipwalk.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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 3,300 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.
