home our mission our efforts our programs your help blog contact
Make a Donation Request Info Our Partners Shoe Drives Trips Online Communities
William Knopf, Barefoot Coach of the Year!
Posted on March 30, 2010

  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Glenforest High School Basketball Coach, William Knopf has been named
the 2010 Samaritan’s Feet Barefoot Coach of the Year. Coach Knopf will be
Recognized at the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four festivities. 
 
 “Barefoot For Bare Feet” is a movement created by Samaritan’s Feet
that has gained worldwide appeal and outreach, that Coach Knopf joined two years ago. 
 
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) –March 29, 2010 – Samaritan’s Feet announced the winner of the 2010 “Barefoot Coach of the Year”…William Knopf. He will be in Indianapolis, IN to accept his award on Saturday, April 3, 2010 at the Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast recognizing coaches who have demonstrated character, leadership, courage and compassion.
 
Coach Knopf demonstrated courage at the highest level by raising thousands of pairs of shoes by coaching 13 games in his bare feet, including the South Carolina State Championship Game and by walking 8 miles barefoot on your way to a game.
 
“I am so proud of Coach Knopf as he went above and beyond of what we asked him to do,” said Manny Ohonme, President and Founder of Samaritan’s Feet. “I have never seen a coach like William, who is so passionate about what he does. It’s my honor to recognize him for his efforts for children around the world.” 
 
Not only will Coach Knopf be accepting his award, he will also serve alongside his coaching brethren at a 1,000 person shoe distribution on Thursday, April 1st. These impoverished families throughout Indianapolis will have their feet washed and given a new pair of shoes. . 
 
The Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast now stands as one of the premier events during the NCAA Final Four weekend. The 14th annual Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast are hosted by CBS Sports’ Clark Kellogg and TNT’s Ernie Johnson. Each year, more than 1,000 guests attend the event and hear from basketball greats such as Coach Wooden, Jerry Colangelo (Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, Chairman of Board, USA Basketball), David Thompson, Minnesota Head Coach, Tubby Smith, Bobby Jones, and Mark Price. The Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast recognizes the importance of leadership, character, and integrity, and honors heroes in the world of sports.  
 
 
INTERESTED MEDIA:   For further information, please contact Samaritan’s Feet Marketing Director, Todd Melloh at 317-417-3525 or tmelloh@samaritansfeet.org. 
 
 
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 2.5 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 University of North Dakota (Lake Region) where he 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 USA, Africa, South America and the Caribbean.