Buick Baskets for Children in Need Nets 3,000 Pairs of Shoes

Knowledge Base: Buick Buyer's Guide

Fan fest participants enable bigger donation to Samaritan's Feet

DETROIT, April 5, 2011 -- Buick donated approximately 3,000 additional pairs of shoes and socks to Samaritan's Feet, a charity supported by the NCAA, during the Division I Men's Basketball Championship tournament last week.

Buick executives and dealers, along with Samaritan's Feet, the NCAA^® and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, distributed the foot apparel to kids in need during a four-day community outreach event coinciding with the NCAA Final Four^® games.

Buick exceeded the original goal of 2,011 pairs of shoes and socks due to the participation of college basketball fans in the Buick Baskets for Bare Feet competition at the tournament's Bracket Town Refreshed by Coca Cola fan fest in Houston.

"This was an outstanding effort to protect kids' feet and promote an active lifestyle," said Tony DiSalle, U.S. vice president, Buick Marketing. "By working together, Buick, Samaritan's Feet, the NCAA and the coaches of college basketball made a profound difference in scores of young lives."

Buick also worked with Samaritan's Feet to distribute 150 pairs of shoes to kids in Detroit last month, which marked its first association with the non-profit organization that has donated shoes to more than 3 million kids in 40 countries. In its effort to promote foot health for children, Samaritan's Feet has a long-term goal to fit 10 million kids with 10 million pairs of shoes in 10 years.

The organization's founder, former University of North Dakota basketball player Emmanuel "Manny" Ohonme, credits the inspiration for his non-profit organization to his own experience as an impoverished 9-year-old boy in Nigeria when a "Good Samaritan" from Wisconsin gave him his first pair of shoes.

Ohonme's achievements are featured in the Buick Human Highlight Reel program, a yearlong initiative highlighting a growing collection of user-generated videos that tell inspiring true stories of former student-athletes making a difference in their communities. The collection and archive of complete stories are viewable online at NCAA Buick .