Looking for a gift that expresses the true sense of Christmas? Want to teach your children the meaning of
giving? Then buy a pair of the new Samaritan’s Feet sneakers.

Manny Ohonme, the founder of Samaritan’s Feet, has a goal of putting shoes on the feet of 10 million
impoverished people over the next 10 years. And you can help him do it.

In August, the organization introduced its own brand of sneakers. Buy a pair of Samaritan’s athletic shoes for
$29.99 (for adult or children sizes), and the organization donates a second pair of tennis shoes to a child in need. Or if you’d rather, you can just donate the whole $29.99, and the agency will give two pairs to a poor child.

“We’re not trying to be Nike,” Ohonme told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Yes, our goal is to provide shoes, but we want to use them as a philanthropic tool.”

The idea to put shoes on the feet of so many began with a gift. When Ohonme was a nine-year-old boy in his
native Lagos, Nigeria, a man named Dave came from Wisconsin to do missionary work and gave little Manny
his first pair of shoes.

“I remember they were red and white canvas,” said Ohonme.

Until that year, he had walked to school and played with friends while wearing rubber flip-flops.