Making a difference two shoes at a time

Foot Support: One of the earliest recipients of help from Gotta Have Sole Foundation shows off her new shoes. / COURTESY GOTTA HAVE SOLE
Foot Support: One of the earliest recipients of help from Gotta Have Sole Foundation shows off her new shoes. / COURTESY GOTTA HAVE SOLE

Nicholas Lowinger started Gotta Have Sole Foundation in seventh grade in response to seeing homeless children without functioning shoes. Today Lowinger is in the 11th grade, with expectations that the foundation will have distributed shoes to tens of thousands of homeless children in all 50 states by the time he graduates from high school.

What made you start the Gotta Have Sole Foundation?

When I was volunteering with my mother at a local homeless shelter, I saw children who were missing out on equal opportunities, like going to school regularly, participating in athletics and social activities, mainly because they lacked footwear that fit them, if they had any at all. I began donating my used shoes, but these rarely fit. I knew at some point in my life, I would donate new, properly fitting footwear to them.

Why are shoe donations important for children living in homeless shelters?

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Providing children with the personalized gift of new shoes [as opposed to ill-fitting, used shoes] helps improve the self-esteem and confidence that these children are in need of to cope with other issues they are facing.

How did you turn your idea into an organization?

I contacted homeless shelters for their footwear orders, contacted footwear manufacturers for product donations, solicited companies and private individuals for funding in order to purchase the footwear sizes I did not have in stock, and enlisted the help of volunteers from my community. Now, Gotta Have Sole Foundation has over 3,700 volunteers nationwide and receives regular donations from footwear manufacturers, corporations and private donors.

Approximately how many shoes do you distribute per year, and how many so far?

I started out in 2010 by donating new footwear to 400 children in Rhode Island, and now, just into the first quarter of 2015, I have donated new shoes to over 31,768 children in 36 states. I expect to donate new shoes to an additional 4,000 children by June.

What are your plans moving forward?

I developed a club model this year that mobilizes young leaders across the country to recognize the true face of homelessness and take action. They are supporting their less-advantaged peers by donating new footwear and organizing corresponding after-school programs in homeless shelters, thereby improving the dignity and confidence of homeless and disadvantaged children. To date, we have nine clubs in six states. My goal is to work with young leaders and shelters in every state to help youth change the state of homelessness. •

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