Samaritan’s Feet and the National Federation of High Schools Partner to Provide New Shoes and Encouragement to Deserving Children in Nashville, TN

MEDIA ALERT
7/6/2012

Samaritan’s Feet and the National Federation of High Schools Partner to Provide New Shoes and Encouragement to Deserving Children in Nashville, TN

WHAT:
Humanitarian non-profit Samaritan’s Feet is proud to announce its Back to Basics back to school shoe distribution event in Nashville, TN.

Approximately 565 children will be blessed with new athletic shoes and socks and have their feet washed by volunteers from community.

WHO:
The National Federation of High Schools is sponsoring this Samaritan’s Feet organized event.

WHY:
Many families face the new school year with anxiety stemming from the burden of stretching the family budget. Millions of children right here in the US wake up with holes in their shoes or have to squeeze their feet into shoes that are two or three sizes too small.

To address these concerns, Samaritan’s Feet and partners across the United States are uniting to prepare students materially, physically and psychologically for school through the Back to Basics initiative. Furthermore, Samaritan’s Feet’s Back to Basics program empowers thousands of volunteers from diverse backgrounds to serve others in their own community. The objective is to celebrate the start of school by making the families feel loved, valued and encouraged.

This local Back to Basics event is one of 66 distributions around the country (to date). Approximately 32,000 children will receive new shoes and socks before heading back to school in the fall.

“Serving those in need throughout the Nashville community is a great opportunity to bring hope and encouragement to those who are struggling financially,” said Manny Ohonme, founder of Samaritan’s Feet. “We are profoundly grateful for the dedicated volunteers who donate their time and energy to give back to those in need.”

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Recipients have been pre-registered but media guests are welcome for photo and video opportunities. This event is not open to the public.

WHEN:
July 10, 2012
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Pearl-Cohn High School
904 26th Ave.
Nashville, TN 37208

ABOUT SAMARITAN’S FEET:
Samaritan’s Feet is a 501(c)(3) humanitarian aid organization that shares a message of hope and love through washing the feet of impoverished children around the world and adorning them with new shoes. There are an estimated 300 million children who go without shoes every day and more than 1 million that die each year from foot borne disease. Our goal is to provide 10 million pairs of shoes for children in the next 10 years, and since 2003 Samaritan’s Feet and its team of ambassadors have blessed an estimated 4 million children in over 65 nations.

Samaritan’s Feet was started in 2003 by Manny Ohonme who received his first pair of shoes at the age of nine from a missionary. Those shoes allowed him to learn and play the game of basketball, which ultimately earned him a scholarship to the University of North Dakota (Lake Region). Manny went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and pursued a successful career in supply chain software industries. A simple pair of shoes and the kindness and compassion shared by this missionary changed the course of Manny’s life. Learn more at www.samaritansfeet.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jenny Fritz
Samaritan’s Feet, Associate Director of Marketing
704.200.2208
jfritz@samaritansfeet.org