Boxing Legend Sugar Ray Leonard will join Brooke Burke-Charvet and
Tommy Lasorda to raise funds for children with special needs and
education
The SKECHERS Foundation today announced a $1.2 million fundraising goal
for the 2015 SKECHERS
Pier to Pier Friendship Walk that will take place on Sunday, October
25. Building upon last year’s record-breaking $1.1 million that was
raised to support children with special needs and education, celebrities
including boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard will join television host and
actress Brooke Burke-Charvet and legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager
Tommy Lasorda for the Walk’s opening ceremony celebration, which begins
at 9 AM at the Manhattan Beach Pier.
“When we organized the first SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk in
2009, I never imagined how large this event could grow and how
life-changing it would become for thousands of families,” said SKECHERS
president Michael Greenberg. “With the help of our generous sponsors,
including presenting sponsor Nickelodeon, it has become the largest walk
in Southern California that supports children with special needs and
education. It truly warms my heart to see the community join together
every year to make a difference and build a better future for our
children.”
To help the SKECHERS Foundation reach its $1.2 million fundraising goal,
the #P2PSteelSports Selfie Challenge, which raised an additional $25,000
at last year’s Walk, will be returning for the 2015 event. Created by
Walk sponsor Steel Sports, the challenge encourages participants to take
a selfie photo at the Walk and upload to their Instagram, Facebook or
Twitter account with the #P2PSteelSports hashtag. For each photo posted,
Steel Sports will make an additional $5 donation towards the Walk’s
fundraising total. The challenge begins at 8 AM on the morning of the
Walk and participants will have 24 hours to post their photos to receive
a donation credit.
Warren Lichtenstein, chairman and CEO of Steel Partners LLC, commented:
“We are proud to support the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk with
the Steel Sports Selfie Challenge, plus a new hands-on STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) activity that allows children to build
their own rockets provided by the real rocket scientists at one of our
portfolio companies, Aerojet Rocketdyne. This event is a great way to
stimulate children’s interests in space and science in a family-fun
environment, while at the same time raising money for an important
cause.”
Since its inception in 2009, the SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk
has raised over $4 million to support education foundations which
utilize the funds to upgrade school technology and science labs, improve
libraries and music programs, reduce class sizes and help save teachers’
jobs. The Walk also provides critical funding for The
Friendship Circle – an organization that assists children with
special needs and their families through one-on-one peer mentoring and
social recreational programming including field trips, summer camps and
music classes.
With more than 11,000 participants attending the 2014 Walk, SKECHERS is
anticipating an even larger turnout at the 2015 event. The 3.4-mile
route will begin at the Manhattan Beach Pier, traveling to the Hermosa
Beach Pier and back. To register or make a donation, visit skechersfriendshipwalk.com
or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERSFriendshipWalk)
and Twitter (twitter.com/SkechersP2PWalk).
In addition to headlining sponsor Nickelodeon, the SKECHERS Pier to Pier
Friendship Walk thanks its sponsors that include: Wells Fargo, Steel
Sports, South Bay Vein and Laser Group, The Claudette and Ethan Rickett
Care Foundation, Ross, Zappos.com, Tour de Pier, DIRECTV, United Legwear
& Undwear Co., Body Glove, Kids Foot Locker, United Legwear, JAKKS
Pacific, Marshalls, Cushman & Wakefield, Caskey & Caskey, Siltanen &
Partners Advertising, Continental Development, Northrop Grumman,
Equinox, Chevron, and many others who have provided funds and support to
provide a better future for 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.
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, 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 120
countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores,
more than 1,100 SKECHERS retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce
website. The Company manages its international business through a
network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, and 13
wholly-owned subsidiaries in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, Latin America
and throughout Europe. For more information, please visit skechers.com
and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERS)
and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).
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, the Company’s future growth, financial results and
operations, its development of new products, future demand for its
products and growth opportunities, its planned opening of new stores,
advertising and marketing initiatives, and the expansion plans for the
Company’s European Distribution Center. 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
uncertainty of sustained recovery in Europe; entry into the highly
competitive performance footwear market; 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; 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 the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2014 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three
months ended June 30, 2015. The risks included here are not exhaustive.
The Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing
environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot
predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact
of all such risk factors on their respective businesses 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.
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