Finish Line Jumps into National Donation Drive for Samaritan's Feet with $10,000 Donation

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Finish Line, Inc., one of the nation's leading athletic footwear and apparel retailers, today announced a new association with Samaritan's Feet, a not-for-profit organization that provides shoes for impoverished children around the world. To tip-off the launch of Samaritan's Feet national movement, known as "Barefoot for Bare Feet," Finish Line has donated $10,000 to the organization and will rally its customers to donate as well.

Customers are encouraged to lend their support to Samaritan's Feet by making a donation at any Finish Line store or by visiting www.finishline.com/soledestinationsf. A $5 donation will buy a pair of Samaritan's Feet shoes for someone in need. Finish Line started collecting customer contributions for the organization January 7, 2010 and has already collected more than $100,000, a figure the company expects will continue to grow as fundraising continues throughout the college basketball season, which culminates at the 2010 Men's Final Four in Indianapolis on April 5, 2010.

The "Barefoot for Bare Feet" movement, popularized by IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis) Basketball Coach Ron Hunter, is being embraced by thousands of college basketball coaches from across the country. During the season, coaches will be encouraged to coach their games barefoot to raise awareness and funds for the 300 million children that go without shoes each day.  

Finish Line, in partnership with its customers, also launched the Sole Destination program last year to collect and distribute shoes to those in need. As Kevin Flynn, Finish Line senior vice president of marketing explains, "The generosity of our customers is tremendous. Since we initiated our Sole Destination program last year, customers from across the country have helped us collect and distribute thousands of shoes. The partnership with Samaritan's Feet and the Barefoot for Bare Feet campaign is a natural extension of this effort and our endeavors to give back to the community -- here at home and around the world."  

About Finish Line

The Finish Line, Inc. is a premium athletic footwear store and one of the nation's largest mall-based specialty retailers, offering a large selection of performance and everyday sport footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and kids. The Finish Line, Inc. is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol FINL. The company operates 679 Finish Line stores in 47 states and offers online shopping at www.finishline.com.

About Samaritan's Feet

Samaritan's Feet, based in Charlotte, NC, is a humanitarian, non-profit relief organization dedicated to taking a life-changing message of hope and equipping the feet of impoverished children in the United States and around the world with shoes. Our focus is on children from United States, Africa, South America and the Caribbean.

SOURCE The Finish Line, Inc.