This teen has soul

You’d be hard-pressed to find an American who hasn’t heard the famous John F. Kennedy inaugural address, where he calls on the listeners to ask what they can do for their country. Nicholas Lowinger took those words to heart. An impressionable sixth-grader focusing on Kennedy for a history project, Lowinger was moved to make a difference. He says that the president’s words “had a major impact on me. I launched Gotta Have Sole Foundation that same year and also started encouraging youth to take action in their communities.” The beginning Many boys just want to get through their Torah portion at their bar mitzvah, more concerned about the party afterward than about the significance of becoming a man in the eyes of God. Not Lowinger, who took the concept of assuming responsibility for one’s actions to a whole new level. At the ripe old age of 13, he stumbled onto an opportunity to do good and has never looked back. Working on a community service project, Lowinger devised a way to donate new shoes to homeless children. He says, “My program started with one small bin of donated footwear at my temple, Temple Sinai!”     You’d be hard-pressed to find an American who hasn’t heard the famous John F. Kennedy inaugural address, where he calls on the listeners to ask what they can do for their country. Nicholas Lowinger took those words to heart. An impressionable sixth-grader focusing on Kennedy for a history project, Lowinger was moved to make a difference. He says that the president’s words “had a major impact on me. I launched Gotta Have Sole Foundation that same year and also started encouraging youth to take action in their communities.” The beginning Many boys just want to get through their Torah portion at their bar mitzvah, more concerned about the party afterward than about the significance of becoming a man in the eyes of God. Not Lowinger, who took the concept of assuming responsibility for one’s actions to a whole new level. At the ripe old age of 13, he stumbled onto an opportunity to do good and has never looked back. Working on a community service project, Lowinger devised a way to donate new shoes to homeless children. He says, “My program started with one small bin of donated footwear at my temple, Temple Sinai!” The day-to-day Currently, the operation is flowing smoothly. Lowinger and his volunteers fill shelters’ orders with new shoes provided by sponsors, which include Timberland and Stride Rite, from the Lowingers’ garage in Cranston. Often, the teenager hands out the footwear himself, arriving at local shelters with packages that contain not only shoes, but also socks and positive messages that Lowinger writes for the recipients. The obstacles His biggest challenge to date, besides the lack of storage space for excess inventory, involves changing the public’s perception of homeless people. When Lowinger gives talks at schools, businesses and conferences, he wants everyone to understand that “just because a person is homeless doesn’t mean they deserve anything less than people who are in a more financially stable situation.” That’s why Lowinger always emphasizes that donations should consist only of new footwear. To get his point across, he asks everyone in the audience to switch shoes with the person nearby and move around. Afterward, people usually agree on the importance of a proper fit. Lowinger’s motivation Lowinger’s dedication to Gotta Have Sole is especially impressive considering his heavy workload at Wheeler School and extracurricular activities. A varsity tennis player who enjoys spending time with friends and family, Lowinger tries to organize his time wisely to get the most out of every day. His parents limit the number of hours he spends on philanthropic efforts to ensure that he leads a balanced life. Lowinger doesn’t mind juggling it all though – the homeless children he helps inspire him. The teenager says, “The knowledge that the number of homeless children in America is increasing every day motivates me to serve this need.” He is happy to know that Gotta Have Sole is helping children attend school, participate in sports and be accepted by their peers. Lowinger as motivation A recipient of various recognitions, such as Kids Who Give Award, Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Award and Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award, Lowinger hopes others will follow in his footsteps by attempting to make the world a better place. According to Aaron Carlson, chairman of Newtown Kindness (an organization founded to recognize kids who perform acts of kindness and to foster a kindness mindset in children, in honor of one of the Sandy Hook victims), Lowinger is succeeding. Carlson says, “So many people have told me that Nicholas’ [award acceptance] speech was the motivation behind their own acts of kindness. … Nicholas truly has inspired so many other people, and we are so proud that he is part of our Newtown Kindness family.” While visiting a shelter recently, Lowinger met an appreciative woman, who was staying there. She donated a brand new pair of sneakers that didn’t fit her infant because she wanted another child to feel as good as her children felt when they received new shoes. Whenever the Lowingers go on vacation, they bring footwear to a local shelter. The teenager received an email from a woman in California whose children received a donation. She wrote, “I make earrings and I want to give 50 percent to Gotta Have Sole because, when I needed help, you came all the way to San Francisco and gave my kids shoes. My faith in people has been restored. Most of all, I’m inspired to give back.” The future At present, 34 states are involved with Gotta Have Sole. Eight high school chapters are active in five states. Lowinger has donated shoes to 15,793 children. He’s nowhere near done. His goal is to reach more homeless children in all 50 states by the time he graduates from high school in 2016. The teen also wants to train young people throughout the country to start Gotta Have Sole chapters in their schools. A new initiative Lowinger has begun under the Gotta Have Sole umbrella involves donating footwear gift cards to veterans who are living on or below the poverty line. So far, more than 600 veterans in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Florida have received these cards. IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.