While some people had Monday off, the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team partnered with Samaritan’s Feet to provide shoes to over 150 Madison County children for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event.
The Colonels started the morning by welcoming the children to Alumni Coliseum, where each child was paired with a player who washed their feet in preparation for their new pair of shoes. Following that, the players then rounded the children up to start playing some of the numerous activities set up by the team, including basketball, soccer and kickball.
“Today was very special for all of the EKU baseball family," said EKU Head Coach Edwin Thompson. "Martin Luther King Jr. stood for excellence in equality, and giving the next generation an opportunity at a better life. Through Samaritan’s Feet, today we were able to give back to our community by providing shoes for over 150 kids from the Madison County area. We’re thankful for the all the support from our volunteers, and all the people that helped raise money to make this possible. It was great, for both the kids and our players, to share this time together and to help brighten each other’s day.”
Since being founded in 2003, Samaritan’s Feet has worked with its partners to distribute more than 6.5 million pairs of shoes in over 75 countries and 325 cities across the United States.