Building upon last year’s record-breaking 1.1 million US dollars, raised to support children with special needs and education, celebrities including boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard will join television host and actress Brooke Burke-Charvet and legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda for the Walk’s opening ceremony celebration, which begins at 9 AM at the Manhattan Beach Pier.

“When we organized the first Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk in 2009, I never imagined how large this event could grow and how life-changing it would become for thousands of families”, stated Skechers President Michael Greenberg, adding: “With the help of our generous sponsors, including presenting sponsor Nickelodeon, it has become the largest walk in Southern California that supports children with special needs and education. It truly warms my heart to see the community join together every year to make a difference and build a better future for our children.”

To help the Skechers Foundation reach its 1.2 million US dollars fundraising goal, the #P2PSteelSports Selfie Challenge, which raised an additional 25 000 US dollars at last year’s Walk, will be returning for the 2015 event. Created by Walk sponsor Steel Sports, the challenge encourages participants to take a selfie photo at the Walk and upload to their Instagram, Facebook or Twitter account with the #P2PSteelSports hashtag. For each photo posted, Steel Sports will make an additional 5 US dollars donation towards the Walk’s fundraising total. The challenge begins at 8 AM on the morning of the Walk and participants will have 24 hours to post their photos to receive a donation credit.

Since its inception in 2009, the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk has raised over 4 million US dollars to support education foundations which utilize the funds to upgrade school technology and science labs, improve libraries and music programs, reduce class sizes and help save teachers’ jobs. The Walk also provides critical funding for The Friendship Circle – an organization that assists children with special needs and their families through one-on-one peer mentoring and social recreational programming including field trips, summer camps and music classes.

With more than 11 000 participants attending the 2014 Walk, Skechers is anticipating an even larger turnout at the 2015 event.