Stride Rite Children's Group Celebrates Five Years of Charitable Giving Through Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) Partnership

LEXINGTON, Mass., June 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stride Rite Children's Group (SRCG), a leading provider of premier children's footwear, today announced it will donate a new pair of shoes to Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) for each ticket purchased during K.I.D.S. Day in New York, a celebratory event taking place on June 5, 2011. The donation commemorates five years of successful charitable giving to K.I.D.S., a global charity that helps millions of underprivileged and disaster-struck children by providing new clothing, toys, books, other children's products and basic necessities like shoes.  Also announced today, Sharon John, SRCG president, has been appointed to the K.I.D.S. Board of Directors as a member of its Marketing Committee, further strengthening the organizations' relationship.

Since 2006, Stride Rite has provided more than $3 million in new shoes to over 280 nonprofit agencies in the K.I.D.S. network. Stride Rite's charitable giving has made a deep impact on children and families throughout the United States and globally, including much-needed support to children affected by natural disasters in both Haiti and Japan. Up to 500 tickets are expected to be sold at the K.I.D.S. Day event on June 5th, with up to 500 pairs expected to also be donated as a match.

"We're thrilled to celebrate five years of partnership with K.I.D.S. and to reinforce our commitment to the important work of providing new shoes and other basic necessities to children and families in need in communities around the world," said John. "I am honored to join the board and look forward to working closely with fellow board members to help K.I.D.S. foster new opportunities and partnerships."

"Stride Rite has been an outstanding charitable partner whose donations have enabled us to put much needed shoes on the feet of thousands of vulnerable children," said Dr. Janice Weinman, President of K.I.D.S. "We thank them for their ongoing commitment and look forward to Sharon playing an integral and invaluable role on our board."

To learn more about K.I.D.S., visit www.kidsdonations.org.

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About Stride Rite Children's Group and Collective Brands, Inc.

About Stride Rite Children's Group, Inc. and Collective Brands, Inc.

The Stride Rite Children's Group, part of the Performance + Lifestyle Group of Collective Brands, Inc., markets leading brands of premium children's footwear in the United States, including stride rite® , Robeez for stride rite®, Saucony® Kids, Keds® Kids and Sperry Top-Sider® Kids, among others. For over 90 years, the company has designed and engineered footwear specifically to meet the needs of growing children. Through our sole commitment to "Kid-RITE" innovation, quality, health and style, Stride Rite Children's Group's mission is to be the first choice for premium authentic footwear brands that kids love and moms trust. Visit www.striderite.com to learn more.

About Collective Brands, Inc.

Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide.  The company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing.  Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its nearly 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands Airwalk®, Dexter®, Champion® and designer collections Lela Rose for Payless, Christian Siriano for Payless and Isabel Toledo for Payless, among others;  Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle and performance branded footwear sold primarily through wholesale and retail, with brands including Stride Rite®, Keds®, Sperry Top-Sider®,  and Saucony®; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk®, Vision Street Wear®, Sims®, Lamar® and LTD®.  Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand's units can be found at www.collectivebrands.com.

About Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.)

Celebrating 25 years in service, K.I.D.S. has provided over 65 million underprivileged and disaster-struck children with close to one billion dollars of NEW clothing, toys, basic necessities, juvenile products, books and much more. The donations of new products are distributed through an established network of nearly 1,000 local community social service agencies in the U.S. and abroad. K.I.D.S.' efforts reach youth, age 0-18, who are challenged by poverty, homelessness, domestic abuse, low literacy, military family service, major illness, incarcerated family members and disaster survival. More information about donating new products and supporting our work is available online at www.KIDSdonations.org.

SOURCE Stride Rite Children's Group

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