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IUPUI Coach Run Hunter Shedding His Shoes for SF!
Posted on January 11, 2010

For More Information Contact:

Todd Melloh, 317-417-3525
tmelloh@samaritansfeet.org 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thousands of basketball coaches provide voice for 300 million children
in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
IUPUI Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Ron Hunter will headline the
list of 3,000 coaches who will coach a game in their bare feet
on January 14, 2010 Vs Oral Roberts at home in Conseco Fieldhouse at 7:00pm.
 
 “Barefoot For Bare Feet” is a movement created by Samaritan’s Feet
that has gained worldwide appeal and outreach. 
 
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) –January 7, 2010 – Samaritan’s Feet announced a national launch of “Barefoot for Bare Feet” movement to honor the late Martin Luther King, Jr. The program will take place over the MLK holiday weekend, from January 14-18th.  Men’s and women’s basketball coaches will be encouraged to coach their games in their bare feet in remembrance of the 300 million children who wake up every day without shoes.
 
Coach Hunter will be joined by 3,000 other coaches from across the country at all levels to bring awareness to the plight of these children to put 1,000,000 pairs of shoes on the feet of children through Samaritan’s Feet. The barefoot movement will continue until champions are crowned in Indianapolis at the 2010 Men’s Final Four. Coach Hunter was the first coach to ever do this. Now 3,000 coaches will support their efforts to put a 1,000,000 pairs of shoes on the feet of children through Samaritan’s Feet.
 
“I am so proud of Coach Hunter and his continued efforts to help Samaritan’s Feet reach millions of children,” said Manny Ohonme, President and Founder of Samaritan’s Feet. “It began with him and now he has helped us enlist coaches from around the country to follow his lead. Impoverished children will be delivered hope from such a simple act of compassion and courage.”
 
The NCAA and NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) have partnered with Samaritan’s Feet this year to help reach a million children. The “Barefoot for Bare Feet” program will culminate at the 2010 Final Four, where the NCAA and its member schools and coaches will put shoes on the feet of thousands of children in Indianapolis.
 
 
History
In November of 2007, Samaritan’s Feet asked Ron Hunter, a college basketball coach, to take off his shoes and socks to raise 40,000 pairs of shoes and draw awareness to the world-wide issue of 300 million children without shoes. 
 
Coach Hunter said yes and embraced the goal of 40,000 pairs of shoes that he wanted donated by January 24, 2008. In less than six weeks, his goal was blown out of the water. By tip-off Coach Hunter and Samaritan’s Feet had raised over 140,000 pairs of shoes and over $30,000. The media exposure was incredible. Over 439 media outlets covered the story before and after he coached the game, including, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, LA Times and many more. He also personally delivered the shoes with his team to Lima, Peru in August. In fact, Coach Hunter became the 2008 ABC News Person of the year.
 
That singular effort has now led to a movement that is sweeping college campuses and is being championed by the NCAA and the NABC. Every day, coaches from around the country call Samaritan’s Feet to find out how they can help and are willing to shed their shoes. They are eager to use their celebrity platforms as coaches to help us reach our goal. Coaches are engaged with Samaritan’s Feet to help us reach our goal of distributing 10 million pairs of shoes to 10 million people in 10 years.
 
January 14-18, 2010, Samaritan’s Feet will continue to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, by once again asking all basketball coaches (college, pro, high school, junior high, and youth recreational and travel teams) to coach a game in their bare feet in honor of Dr. King who sacrificed so much for so many.  
 
Coaches will be encouraged to coach the game in their bare feet as close to January 18th (MLK Day) as possible. Dr. King’s impact continues to be felt through his teachings of serving and helping the poor. Samaritan’s Feet embodies that mantra and lives it out everyday. Coaches will honor his life by standing for the 300 million children around the world who don’t have a voice. They suffer from diseases, infection and many other ailments because they don’t have shoes to wear. Needless to say, they can’t play sports without shoes.  
 
Confirmed Coaches
As a result of the success, nearly 3,000 basketball coaches are coaching a game in their bare feet.  
  • Butler Coach Brad Stevens, Indiana State’s Kevin McKenna, South Dakota State’s Coach Scott Nagy, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Benny Moss, University Missouri KC Coach Matt Brown, and many more.
 
INTERESTED MEDIA:   For further information, please contact Samaritan’s Feet Marketing Director, Todd Melloh at 317-417-3525 or tmelloh@samaritansfeet.org.