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Buick and Samaritan’s Feet Partner to Help Children in Detroit

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In celebration of Black History Month, Buick and Samaritan’s Feet teamed up to host a foot-washing event last Thursday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. In addition to making sure that a number of children cleaned the spaces in between their toes, Buick and Samaritan’s Feet also provided more than 290 pairs of shoes to area children.

Buick and Samaritan's Feet“Samaritan’s Feet is thankful for the wonderful team at Buick,” said Emmanuel “Manny” Ohonme, founder, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Feet, in Buick’s press release. “We are able to impact thousands of lives through our continued Buick partnership in the local communities that their employees reach out to. I had a wonderful time personally serving my friends in Detroit.”

Over a decade of service, Samaritan’s Feet has provided 10 million underprivileged children with new shoes in their quest to reduce the number of people who contract diseases because of their lack of shoes.

This does not mark the first time that Buick and Samaritan’s Feet have teamed up: including efforts in major cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, and Chicago, Buick has helped donate more than 15,000 pairs of shoes to needy children.

“This is a great opportunity for Buick and Samaritan’s feet to celebrate African- American history and the ongoing comeback of Detroit in such a historic institution,” said Tony DiSalle, vice president of Buick marketing.

Samaritan’s Feet founder “Manny” Ohonme—originally from Lagos, Nigeria—was so touched when he received his first pair of shoes from a missionary worker that, upon immigrating to America, he began the organization in 2003 in order to instill the same home in other underprivileged children.

In 2013, Samaritan’s Feet donated 1,093,846 shoes to countries all around the world, including Haiti, the Philippines, South Africa, and Honduras. The group also participated in a National Day of Service event in Birmingham, Alabama, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. earlier this year.