SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE IN BAREFOOT SUNDAY HERE!

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Easter Sunday (April 4, 2010) marks the 42^nd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In honor of Dr. King’s legacy of being the voice of the poor, thousands of Pastors will deliver their Easter message in their bare feet. One million children are expected to be impacted from one simple act.

Martin Luther King, III and Dr. Bernice A. King join

Samaritan’s Feet in claiming, Easter Sunday, April 4^th, 2010, as “Barefoot Sunday” in honor of their late father, Dr. King. Martin Luther King, III and Bernice King and Samaritan’s Feet are asking pastors nationwide to preach barefoot on Easter Sunday to provide a voice for the 300 million impoverished people worldwide who go without shoes, and many without hope.

A press conference has been scheduled for 11:00am on Friday, March 19^th at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 407 Auburn Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA, 30312, announcing an alliance with Samaritan’s Feet, Martin Luther King, III and Dr. Bernice A. King and pastors throughout the country

(Atlanta, GA) –March 19, 2010 – Samaritan’s Feet announces a national launch of “Barefoot Sunday” a movement to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Easter Sunday, April 4^th, is the 42^nd anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Pastors will be encouraged to preach their Easter Services in their bare feet in honor of the 300 million children who wake up every day without shoes.

Martin Luther King, III and Bernice King and Samaritan’s Feet have partnered with Bishop Paul S. Morton, the Rev. Dr. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, (spiritual home of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr), Bishop James Dixon, Dr. Stephen J. Thurston, Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Bishop Gregory Ingram and a growing list of influential spiritual leaders from their respective denominations, to join them in their barefoot efforts. 

Samaritan’s Feet expects 5,000 Pastors from different denominations across the country to bring awareness to the plight of these children. The goal is to put 1,000,000 pairs of shoes on the feet of children. The Pastors will ask their members to make a $10.00 donation which buys, processes, sorts, warehouses, ships, and distributes a pair of shoes to a child in need.

“I am so honored to serve with Dr. Martin Luther King’s Family,” said Manny Ohonme, President and Founder of Samaritan’s Feet. “This is a dream come true to be able to partner with Bernice and Martin Luther King, III and these great religious leaders.   These pastors are making a choice to preach barefoot. The children we serve don’t have a choice to be barefoot. By preaching in their bare feet, it makes a statement to their congregation that they are not above these hurting families.” 

Many of the shoes raised for “Barefoot Sunday” will be used for as many as a 50 multi-city domestic distribution to take place on MLK Weekend 2011. People from diverse backgrounds will join together on this national day of service to symbolize a unified effort by becoming the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King dreamed of; by serving hurting families through washing their feet, putting a new pair of shoes on their feet and sharing God’s love.

“We are partnering with Samaritan’s Feet because they serve the poor and demonstrate compassionate acts of service by washing the feet of shoe recipients,” said Martin Luther King, III. “My father stood for the impoverished and Samaritan’s Feet embodies that every day. This fits the model that my father stood for and we are honored to continue his legacy.” 

“We are extremely pleased that we get to partner with Samaritan’s Feet and these religious leaders who are demonstrating God’s love,” said Dr. Bernice A. King. “My father stood for more than just marches and rallies. He encouraged people to serve and love each other. This will be lived out on the day when the world celebrates his life. I am so excited to be a part of a national movement that will significantly impact the impoverished.”

The press conference is open to all interested media and will be held on Friday, March 19th at11:00am, at Ebenezer Baptist Church, located at407 Auburn Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA, 30312.  

Those present are expected to unveil their plan to raise 1 million pairs of shoes.

“When our Savior rose from the grave, He was barefoot,” said Bishop Paul S. Morton. “I am no better than anyone else and that’s why I am so proud to be a part of this endeavor. What an honor to join my colleagues in a collective effort to reach millions for Christ on Easter Sunday.” 

“I met Manny and his team and I knew right away that we had to get involved,” said Bishop James Dixon, whose congregation distributed 5,000 pairs of shoes in Houston, TX in December. “I want to honor my Savior by demonstrating compassion and humility. I am so privileged to be a part of this endeavor and I am humbled by the list of Pastors that are joining the movement. Our collective congregations will make an eternal impact on millions of children that we will never meet. I can’t think of a better way to spend Easter Sunday.”

Confirmed Pastors

On Easter Sunday, nearly 5,000 Pastors will be preaching in their bare feet.  

• Bishop Morton, International Presiding Bishop – Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, Bishop James Dixon, Kingdom Builders Global Fellowship, Dr. Thurston, President, National Baptist Convention of America, Inc, Bishop Ingram, Presiding Prelate, 10^th Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church, Jurisdictional Bishop Elect, J. Drew Sheard, Church of God in Christ Inc, and many more.

Barefoot History

On November 29, 2007, Samaritan’s Feet asked Ron Hunter, a college basketball coach (IUPUI), 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 honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 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 barefoot movement that is sweeping the country. Over the first three months of 2010, Samaritan’s Feet has had over 3,000 coaches’ coach a game in their bare feet. In fact, every day, people 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 platforms to help make a difference and reach our goal.

About Samaritan's Feet
There are over 300 million children who go without shoes every day.  It's their only mode of transportation.  That's why Samaritan's Feet was started.

Samaritan's Feet is a humanitarian relief organization that puts shoes on the feet of children all around the world.  Our goal is to provide-10 million pairs of shoes for 10 million impoverished people in 10 years.  To date, nearly 3 million pairs of shoes for children around the world have been collected. 

It was started in 2003 by President and Founder, Manny Ohonme.  Manny received his first pair of shoes at the age of 9 from a missionary.  He started playing basketball and other sports with these new pair of shoes.  He earned a spot on a traveling basketball team and eventually his high school team.  Upon graduating high school, he was offered a scholarship to play basketball at the University of North Dakota (Lake Region), and later received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.

Manny spent ten years in the marketing and logistics business before he started Samaritan's Feet to help children and pay it forward to what he was given-a pair of shoes that gave him hope. 

Samaritan's Feet, based in Charlotte, NC, is a humanitarian non-profit relief organization dedicated to taking a life-changing message of hope and equipping the feet of impoverished children in the US and around the world with shoes.  Our focus is on children from North America, Africa, South America, Asia, Middle East and the Caribbean.

 

 INTERESTED MEDIA:   For further information, contact Samaritan’s Feet Marketing Director, Todd Melloh at 317-417-3525 or tmelloh@samaritansfeet.org or www.samaritansfeet.org.