Sept. 17, 2013
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Tyson Veidt, head coach of the Bluffton University football team, and Rod Huber, head coach for the College of Mount St. Joseph football team, will be barefoot as they patrol the sidelines during the Sept. 28 game at the Mount's Schueler Field.
The MSJ Lions will host the second annual Barefoot Game to support Samaritan's Feet and their mission to provide 10 million pair of shoes to million people in 10 years. This is the Second Annual Samaritan's Feet game for the Mount. After Coach Huber visited Africa on a mission trip last year, he was motivated to find a way to give back in a meaningful way by helping get shoes to children in need. This year, Huber reached out to his fellow head coaches in the HCAC Conference to garner their support in this effort.
"I'm so thrilled that 100% of the HCAC football head coaches are committed to this initiative on behalf of the Samaritan's Feet mission," Huber said. "I was personally moved while participating in a shoe distribution and can't express how meaningful it was to sit with a child, wash their feet, talk with them and then watch them walk away with a smile and a new pair shoes and socks. I'm looking forward to our athletes sharing that same experience."
Each Mount football player will find a sponsor who will pay $10 for him to wear a wristband on game day. Kickoff for the Sept. 28 game is at 1:30 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase at the game.
Each school has scheduled a game during their season to raise awareness and funds with the goal of the HCAC All-Conference team participating in an end-of-season shoe distribution. During a Barefoot Game, Samaritan's Feet is highlighted in various ways. Often coaches elect to go through the game without wearing shoes in order to garner attention towards the 300 million people that go without shoes every day. The HCAC programs participating will include, College of Mount St. Joseph, Manchester University, Anderson University, Hanover College, Franklin College, Earlham College, Defiance College, Bluffton University, and Rose-Hulman, who will also show support by selling wristbands, new shoe collections, virtual shoe drives and other on campus awareness events.
Samaritans Feet is a non-profit organization founded by Emmanuel Ohonme in 2003. Their mission is to equip ten million impoverished children with ten million shoes in ten years. Since beginning in 2003, Samaritan's Feet has helped 4 million people in 60 countries. They also have partnerships with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee).
-BEAVERS-