Grizzlies guards O.J. Mayo and Josh Selby were on hand to present brand new Nike athletic shoes to 200 children to benefit the Samaritan’s Feet initiative on Friday, Jan. 13 at FedExForum. The new shoes were provided to children from the Memphis Family Shelter, Catholic Charities, Families of Incarcerated Individuals, Refugee Empowerment Center, Building Blocks Mentoring, Girls Inc. and Tunica Mentoring Center. Mayo, Selby and over 100 volunteers washed the feet of the youngsters before gently placing a new pair of socks and shoes on each child. The ceremony is a sign of compassion that is part of the Samaritan’s Feet initiative.
With help from Memphis Grizzlies community partners Lipscomb and Pitts Breakfast Club who also provided 100 volunteers to help with the event, Hyde Family Foundation and Manny Ohonme, Founder of Samaritan’s Feet, a global nonprofit whose mission is to provide 10 million pairs of shoes on the feet of 10 million children in the next 10 years, the Grizzlies were able to host the annual event in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Samaritan’s Feet and its team of global ambassadors have touched the lives of men, women, and children across the United States and around the world in an effort help the nearly 300 million people who go without shoes each day. If you would like more information about Manny and Samaritan’s Feet, please visit, samaritansfeet.org.