5,000 Underprivileged Children on Skid Row Get Free Brand New Shoes, Clothes & Backpacks at America's Largest 23rd Annual Back-to-School Free Giveaway at Fred Jordan Missions on Skid Row

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It's Christmas in October for thousands of disadvantaged children and their families on Skid Row. They will receive brand new athletic shoes, clothing & school supplies at the Fred Jordan Missions' 23rd Annual Back-to-School Free Giveaway, as part of a unique partnership with Foot Locker. The 23rd Annual Giveaway will be held at the Fred Jordan Missions located at 445 Towne Avenue, on Thursday, October 6th, beginning at 9:00am.  

Skid Row's Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles will be transformed into a huge store. More than 60 Foot Locker associates will be on-hand to ensure that each child is custom-fit with the perfect sized shoes.  For many of these inner city boys and girls, this will be their first pair of new shoes.  Foot Locker will donate athletic shoes and socks to outfit nearly 5,000 children.  

"Community giving and providing assistance to those in need has always been an intrinsic part of our Company's core values," said Jake Jacobs, President and CEO of Foot Locker, U.S. "We are so proud to partner with the Fred Jordan Missions for over two decades on this important Back-to-School Giveaway program, and provide more than 105,000 pairs of athletic shoes and socks to children in need within the Los Angeles community."  

Nearly 300 volunteers will join the volunteer team of Foot Locker associates to distribute new clothing, backpacks, school supplies, hygiene products, give haircuts and provide lunch to the children from the inner-city area and from around the Southland. For the past 23 years, these children and families know they can count on Fred Jordan Missions & Foot Locker to help provide these critical school supplies, so they can go back to school "dressed and ready to learn."    

"Poverty in America has skyrocketed, and this year's Back-to-School Clothing Giveaway is more needed than ever before," said Willie Jordan, President of Fred Jordan Missions. "Children, students and families have been waiting all year for this special and extraordinary day to come.  I was born at the end of the Great Depression, and I still remember going to school one day without shoes, in spite of the fact that both my parents worked. I will never forget the embarrassment, humiliation and shame I felt for not having shoes to wear.  When I grew up, I determined that I would dedicate my life to help children avoid the humiliation I endured, and give them the basic tools they need to succeed in life.  I am deeply grateful to Foot Locker for their 23 years of partnership with the Mission, sending well over 100,000 impoverished American children back to school with new athletic shoes and socks! Thank you, Foot Locker, for truly caring about the communities you serve, and for sharing our goal to equip poor children for academic success by sending them back to school with dignity, tools, and positive self-esteem – and some pretty cool, new shoes."

Joining Foot Locker with charitable contributions are the following companies: In-N-Out Burger, Avery Dennison, Edgewood Press, Barbara Walden, Shelter Partnership, Phillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamara, LLP, Unilever; Knit Works, Vera R. Campbell, Mark Chow A Foundation for Kids, and Reo Backpacks.

However, in all the excitement of this beautiful day for the children, there is a real emergency here on Skid Row!  Donations to the Mission from individual donors have dropped by nearly 40% in the past year -- while at the same time, more struggling families have turned to the Mission for help.

Hungry, impoverished families need food, clothing, and blankets to care for the tiniest victims of this national recession -- the children.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, the Mission is asking charitable people of good will to donate food, new clothes, new toys, or a blanket for cold winter nights.  Cash donations are also welcome -- and tax-deductible.

One in five children goes to bed hungry in Los Angeles.   If viewers or readers are able to help, they can call

PLEASE PHONE: 1-626-915-1981 to donate.
GIVE ONLINE: www.fjm.org  
PO BOX 12345, Covina, CA 91722
Major Credit Cards gratefully accepted. Donations are tax deductible.

The Fred Jordan Missions, open 365 days a year since 1944, feeds hundreds of hungry people and provides assistance to impoverished individuals and families.  The Mission is a non-profit, faith-based, educational and relief organization that focuses on education, job training, and self-reliance.  

Foot Locker, Inc. is a specialty athletic retailer that operates more than 3,400 stores in 22 countries in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Through its Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Footaction, Champs Sports and CCS stores, as well as its direct-to-customer channel Footlocker.com/Eastbay/CCS, the Company is the leading provider of athletic footwear and apparel.

SOURCE Fred Jordan Missions