Samaritan's Feet in Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced a $5 million commitment from Sanford Health to help expand the organization's capacity to provide shoes for poor children around the world and help prevent disease transmission through contaminated soil.

The gift will provide funding to increase the organization's operational capacity in the United States, expand its educational programming, strengthen its global infrastructure, and ensure its sustainability. According to the organization's president and CEO, Manny Ohonme, the gift also kicks off a $40 million capital campaign to support construction of a global headquarters in Charlotte that will house its worldwide volunteer center and a new Global Servant Leadership Institute.

In addition, the commitment will support collaborations between Samaritan's Feet and Sanford Health, including research to develop a second-generation anti-microbial and biodegradable shoe for distribution in resource-constrained countries and among at-risk  populations in the United States; delivery of shoes in Costa Rica and Ghana; and the development of a Sanford Health Shoes for Seniors program, which will provide vulnerable senior citizens in the U.S. with fall-resistant shoes and foot-care information.

"Samaritan's Feet serves and inspires children by providing shoes across the world," said Sanford Health president and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft. "Theirs is an inspiring mission that fits with the kind of impact Sanford Health strives to have in the world. Manny and his team have an ambitious plan for the future, and it's a project we're proud to support."

(Photo credit: Samaritan's Feet)