Cranston, Rhode Island (CNN) — At a immature age, Nicholas Lowinger schooled not to take things for granted.
He was 5 years aged and visiting a homeless preserve with his mother, who works in several shelters opposite Rhode Island. He was vehement for a event to uncover off his new light-up sneakers to a rest of a kids. But his mom cautioned him opposite doing so, explaining that these children competence not have such luxuries.
Sure enough, when Nicholas met kids during a shelter, he fast satisfied that they were vital in resources that were unequivocally opposite from his own.
“I saw other kids my age who looked usually like me. The usually disproportion was, they were wearing old, scruffy boots that were descending apart. Some didn’t have a span of boots to call their own,” pronounced Nicholas, now 15. “I’ve been unequivocally advantageous to grow adult in a family that is means to yield me with whatever we need. A lot of kids here in a U.S. don’t have a same opportunities.”
There were 1.6 million homeless children opposite a United States in 2010, according to a news from a National Center on Family Homelessness (PDF). With no permanent place to live, many stay on a streets or in shelters, motels, cars and deserted buildings.
“Homeless children, they shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll be supposed or how they’ll fit in,” Nicholas said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about not being means to play sports or go to propagandize since they don’t have a span of shoes.”
That initial preserve revisit left a clever sense on Nicholas, who started donating all a boots he’d outgrown to internal shelters. But he fast satisfied that his donations, while well-intentioned, weren’t that helpful.
“It worried me that we usually had used boots to give to them instead of new boots that fit right,” he said. “No dual people’s feet are identical, and if we are wearing someone else’s ragged shoes, your feet aren’t going to be unequivocally comfortable.”
So in 2010, during a age of 12, Nicholas started a module that donates new boots to homeless children.
At first, his efforts were partial of a village use plan heading adult to his bar mitzvah, a Jewish coming-of-age ceremony. But he wanted to safeguard that a work would continue after a ceremony.
“I didn’t wish to make one concession and stop there,” he said. “I wanted it to be something we could do for a rest of my life.”
With a assistance of his parents, he afterwards started a Gotta Have Sole Foundation. Since 2010, a classification has donated new boots to some-more than 10,000 homeless children in 21 states.
“By giving new boots to homeless children, I’m creation certain them and their families have during slightest one reduction thing to worry about,” Nicholas said. “I’m also permitting relatives to save income for an unit or food for their subsequent meal.”
Two years ago, Frencis Velasquez found herself homeless with 3 immature children.
“It’s been difficult. Going from preserve to shelter, assembly all these opposite people. My kids didn’t have anything that was stable,” pronounced Velasquez, 23.
Keeping adult with a perfectionist needs of her flourishing children presented additional challenges.
“I had to confirm possibly to spend income on boots or medicine and diapers,” Velasquez said. “I already felt horrible. Not being means to yield them boots done me feel even worse.”
Fortunately, a Rhode Island preserve where she was vital worked with a Gotta Have Sole Foundation. Her children have now perceived mixed pairs of boots by a organization.
“Having new boots creates them feel great,” Velasquez said. “I remember when one of my sons got his initial pair, he was so vehement that he usually started kissing a shoes. It creates me feel overwhelming usually meaningful that they’re happy.”
Since starting this work, Nicholas has listened many romantic stories.
He remembers one 16-year-old child who had fled an violent vital conditions with his mother. They had to make a discerning escape, so a child put on a initial boots he could get his hands on: a span of his mother’s aged winter boots.
With no other shoes, a child had to wear a boots day in and day out. Not usually were they a wrong size, though his classmates done fun of him for wearing women’s shoes. The boots became a consistent source of annoyance and annoy until he perceived new boots from Nicholas’ nonprofit.
“New boots can make a child feel good about him or herself. … They benefit confidence; they’re means to do improved in school,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas also remembers a hermit and sister who had to share one span of sparkly pinkish sneakers.
Each day, a siblings switched off wearing a sneakers. When one went to school, a other had to skip a day. The children fell behind in their studies until they any perceived a new span of boots from Nicholas’ group.
“Something that seems so simple, a span of shoes, done a disproportion between removing an preparation or not,” Nicholas said. “It’s some-more than usually giving them a new span of shoes. … That’s unequivocally what creates it so special for me.”
The Lowinger family’s garage is full of new boots that have been donated by boots companies and stores. If they don’t already have a specific distance and character that a child has requested, Nicholas uses a group’s financial donations to buy them. The boots are afterwards shipped to a shelters or, whenever possible, privately delivered by Nicholas.
More than 1,000 volunteers have helped out with a group. Nicholas works 15 hours a week on a plan — a time extent imposed by his mom to safeguard that he has adequate time for schoolwork and other activities.
Nicholas pronounced he doesn’t concede his age get in a approach of achieving his dreams, and he encourages other immature people to do a same.
“No one is ever too immature or aged to assistance others. Kids don’t always comprehend that they have a energy to make a difference,” he said. “I titillate other kids to find a passion, emanate large ideas and act. Kids can make a outrageous disproportion in this world.”
Want to get involved? Check out a Gotta Have Sole website and see how to help.