Presented by Kinecta Federal Credit Union, the Annual Event Has Raised Over $21 Million to Date for Children with Varying Abilities and Education
LOS ANGELES — (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk announced that its 14th annual event raised more than $3 million this year for children with varying abilities, schools and scholarships—a new record that has helped the Walk surpass $21 million in funds raised to date. With more than 19,000 participants, the event was supported by Presenting Sponsor Kinecta Federal Credit Union and over 100 other generous businesses and partners, along with appearances by Dani Bowman, Brooke Burke, Amanda Kloots and Sugar Ray Leonard, plus live performances by talents including Young Selena singer and America’s Got Talent golden buzzer winner Madison Taylor Baez.
“It’s incredible that our event has grown from raising $220,000 at our first Walk to passing the $21 million mark this year,” said Michael Greenberg, co-founder of the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk. “These funds have and will continue to impact and transform the lives of children of all ages and abilities, both in their classroom and at the upcoming Friendship Campus, which will educate and inspire neurodivergent youth, offer them vocational and life-skills training and encourage them to become active participants in their community. I am so deeply grateful for Kinecta, our generous sponsors, celebrities, volunteers and all of our beach and virtual walkers. Thanks to their years of support, we’re enriching our children academically, physically and emotionally more than we ever have—and we’re giving them the tools to succeed that will stay with them their entire lives.”
“This Walk means so much to me,” added Love on the Spectrum star and Danimation entrepreneur Dani Bowman, who has autism. “Thanks to the support of my family and community, I’ve been able to pursue so many opportunities like my show, starting my animation business, teaching students—I know that the sky’s the limit. So many kids with different abilities can do this and more when given love, support and confidence—and this event, the Friendship Foundation and Friendship Campus all celebrate our beautiful community and the amazing things that can happen when we’re supported. Not just for us personally, but what we can also give back to the world around us.”
Historically California’s largest event for children with varying abilities and education, the 3.5-mile Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk supports The Friendship Foundation’s future Friendship Campus (The Greenberg Family / Skechers Center) and the Friendship Foundation which offers children with varying abilities a wide range of activities, including one-on-one peer visits and social recreational activities, online gatherings, summer camps, sporting event outings and classes such as music, yoga, cooking, art and drama.
In addition, the Walk contributes to public school education foundations—helping to reduce class sizes; provide counseling and support; maintain classes in the arts, STEM, reading and physical education; and update labs, libraries and facilities. The Skechers Foundation’s National Scholarship program will also donate a portion of the proceeds to students with financial need and proven excellence in academics, athletics and leadership, and has donated nearly $1 million in scholarships to date.
The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk thanks its Presenting Sponsor Kinecta Federal Credit Union and all of its generous sponsors, including Nickelodeon, Los Angeles Chargers, Dakine, Los Angeles Kings, Bank of America, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Rare Beauty, Los Angeles Angels, Vertra, WSS, Steel Sports, Academy Sports & Outdoors, United Legwear & Apparel, CET Foundation, Chevron, Ross Stores, Continental Development, McCarthy Building Companies, Petco Love, Turkish Airlines, MBS Group, Moose Toys and many more companies who are committed to making a difference in the lives of our children.
To watch this year’s Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk and learn more about the event, please visit skechersfriendshipwalk.com or YouTube, and follow the Walk on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About Skechers Foundation
Established in 2010 to help children in need, the Skechers Foundation is dedicated to strengthening communities to ensure the health, success and well-being of youth worldwide. We invest in a global network of charitable organizations dedicated to embracing individuals with diverse abilities, improving education, empowering disadvantaged families and providing humanitarian, disaster and economic relief. By supporting millions through our products and services, we aspire to make a valiant effort in creating stronger, self-sufficient individuals for future generations.
About Skechers USA, Inc.
Skechers USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX), The Comfort Technology Company™ based in Southern California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in over 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through digital stores and 4,458 Company- and third-party-owned physical retail stores. The Company manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
About Kinecta Federal Credit Union
Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California Kinecta Federal Credit Union is the country’s 35th largest credit union, with assets of $6.6 billion and more than 270,000 members from coast to coast. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with additional branches in New York, New Jersey, Northern California and Florida, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products from banking, lending and insurance to wealth management services. Kinecta has been recognized by the Mortgage Bankers Association as a recipient of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Residential Leadership Award, and received the Best of Show award granted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Technology Council. Forbes awarded Kinecta as a top-ranked credit union in California on its America’s Best Credit Unions in Each State 2022 List. Kinecta has 32 locations and its members can use a network of more than 5,800 shared branches and access over 85,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide. For more information on Kinecta, visit the website and LinkedIn.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may 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,” “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 the disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; delays or disruptions in our supply chain; international economic, political and market conditions including the effects of inflation around the world, the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States and the impact of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine; 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, 2021 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q in 2022. Taking these and other risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, the dynamic nature of these circumstances means that what is stated in this press release could change at any time, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. 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 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.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Jennifer Clay
SKECHERS USA
jennc@skechers.com
(310) 937-1326
