If you looked around the Shiloh Christian gym on Wednesday night during the Varsity Girls’ Basketball game you may have noticed something a little odd. Head Coach Matt Stewart was coaching barefoot in order to raise awareness and money for Samaritan’s Feet.
“I think we take shoes for granted,” said Shiloh Christian Girls’ Basketball Coach Matt Stewart. “I have plenty in my closet and I was approached by Samaritan’s Feet and asked if I would be a representative for them and I was all about.”
Samaritan’s Feet is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that was founded in 2003. It uses shoes as a vehicle to show love and compassion to those in need...
“We try to get coaches from across the country to use their platforms to help raise awareness for the need of shoes,” said Director of Development Graham Gibbs. “We hope the awareness helps with the distribution of shoes.”
Over 300 million children across the world have never owned a pair of shoes. The money Shiloh Christian is raising will go directly to children in Northwest Arkansas in need of shoes.
“It’s hard to realize for a lot of us that kids in Northwest Arkansas don’t even have shoes,” said Student Coordinator Daniel Evans. “We provide them with shoes, it’s a ten dollar donation and it goes to the shoes.”
Samaritan’s Feet is a worldwide organization and they use sports as a main platform to reach people.
“We have athletes from the professional level who support us,” said Gibbs. “Steve Smith for example, he would take his shoes off after each game and walk off the field barefoot to raise awareness for us. “
Coach Stewart is the first high school basketball coach in the state to participate and at Wednesday night’s game Coach Berry from Huntsville and the Shiloh Christian cheerleading team joined in the effort to raise awareness and money.
Shiloh’s goal is to raise enough money to give 200 shoes to Northwest Arkansas kids in need. If you would like more information or would like to make a donation you can visit http://www.samaritansfeet.org.