SKECHERS Foundation Raises $1.4 Million and Donates Record-Breaking Funds to Children with Special Needs and Education

14 Mar 2016, 00:00 AM EDT

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The SKECHERS Foundation celebrated its seventh annual SKECHERS
Pier to Pier Friendship Walk with a check presentation ceremony on
Thursday, March 10 at the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, California.
The Foundation presented its largest donation totals in the history of
the walk: $434,000 for The Friendship Foundation – a non-profit
organization that assists children with special needs and their families
– and $932,000 dedicated to six education foundations. In addition, the
SKECHERS Foundation distributed $25,000 in scholarship funds to several
deserving high school students. The scholars were recognized for their
outstanding capabilities, their capacity to lead and serve, and their
commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and
communities.

“Each year we set a goal for our annual Walk,” said SKECHERS president
Michael Greenberg. “And this year we set our highest goal yet $1.2
million. When we surpassed our goal and reached a record high of $1.4
million, I was ecstatic with the success and knowing that we could have
an even greater impact this year on children with special needs and
public education. Our corporate sponsors, celebrity ambassadors,
community leaders and dedicated walkers make this all possible. Their
support helps to create a better future for our children, and their
spirit of giving continues to grow and meet their needs.”

The Friendship Foundation (www.friendshipfoundation.com)
unites children with special needs and teen volunteers through
one-on-one peer mentoring and social recreational activities, creating
emotional bonds that improve the lives of kids and their families. “The
generous donations from the SKECHERS Foundation have funded the growth
of our organization,” said Yossi Mintz, Executive Director of Friendship
Foundation. “We have programs running six days a week, including 28
school clubs in ten school districts. This past year we accumulated over
11,000 volunteer hours and have 56 unique programs including Camp Got
Friends – a two-week summer day camp that serves 110 children with
special needs. The continued support from SKECHERS over the past seven
years has been instrumental to our success.”

In addition to supporting the Friendship Foundation, the Walk provides
funding for public education. “The SKECHERS
Friendship Walk helps support positions and programs that are
essential to a high quality education,” said Carolyn Niman, Executive
Director of the Peninsula Education Foundation. “We can hire more
counselors and teachers, and now receive crucial funds for elementary
PE, music and library staff, as well as our award-winning STEM program
which incorporates hands-on projects in order to help kids learn
engineering concepts.”

The SKECHERS
Pier to Pier Friendship Walk has become California’s largest charity
event supporting children with special needs and education. Since its
inception in 2009, the Walk has united over 54,000 participants and
raised over $5.5 million to support The Friendship Foundation and
education foundations committed to saving teachers’ jobs, retaining
vital academic programs, maintaining smaller class sizes, improving
libraries and upgrading school technology. In 2015 alone, more than
13,000 attended the Walk, along with numerous celebrities such as model
and entrepreneur Brooke Burke-Charvet, legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard
and fitness enthusiast Denise Austin.

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,
Body Glove, Kids Foot Locker, United Legwear, JAKKS Pacific, Marshalls,
Cushman & Wakefield, Caskey & Caskey, Siltanen & Partners Advertising,
Continental Development, Northrop Grumman, Equinox, Mattel, Chevron, and
many others who have given 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 160
countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores,
more than 1,340 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 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 and opening
of new stores, the completion of the expansion and upgrade of the
Company’s European distribution center, and advertising and marketing
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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
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and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the
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