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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team served local children by washing their feet and giving them a new pair of shoes on Monday.  The event was part of the National Day of Service campaign by Samaritan's Feet.
 
Nearly 400 children either received shoes on Monday at EKU's Alumni Coliseum, or if they couldn't make it will receive their shoes later this week.
 
After washing each child's feet and fitting them with a new pair of shoes, the children, grades K-5, were able to test out their new shoes by playing games with the team.
 
This is the fourth year the Colonel baseball team has hosted this event.  At the conclusion of Monday's service, the total number of students in Madison County who have been impacted reached 1,114.
 
During this National Day of Service campaign, Samaritan's Feet served over 12,000 individuals in 25 cities and 15 states, mobilizing approximately 1,000 volunteers around the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in 2020.
 
The event in Richmond was funded by EKU Baseball Head Coach Edwin Thompson's barefoot coach fundraising efforts (www.smaritansfeet.org/ekubaseball/).  The entire Samaritan's Feet National Day of Service campaign is funded through a four-year grant that Samaritan's Feet received from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that leads the nation's volunteering and civic engagement efforts, and Sanford Health who matched the grant.
 
To continue to raise money and awareness for Samaritan's Feet, Thompson will coach a game barefoot this season for the fourth straight year.  This year's barefoot game is scheduled for May 8 against Southeast Missouri.  Thompson is the only known Division I baseball coach to coach a game barefoot to support Samaritan's Feet's efforts.  In April 2019, Thompson was chosen as a "Barefoot Coach of the Year" by Samaritan's Feet International for his involvement with the organization.
 
For more information on these events, visit SamaritansFeet.org/NDS.
 
The Colonels begin the 2020 season with a three-game series at Presbyterian College on Feb. 14.
 
About Samaritan's Feet International
Samaritan's Feet is a 501(c)(3) humanitarian aid organization that serves and inspires hope in children by providing shoes as the foundation to a spiritual and healthy life resulting in the advancement of education and economic opportunities.  The goal of Samaritan's Feet is to create a world with zero shoeless children.  Since its founding by Manny and Tracie Ohonme in 2003, Samaritan's Feet and its partners have served more than 6.8 million people in 108 nations.  For more information about Samaritan's Feet International, visit www.SamaritansFeet.org.