Nicholas Lowinger

Nicholas Lowinger – Incredible Teen Has Sole for the Homeless

When he was just 5 years old, Nicholas Lowinger visited a homeless shelter with his mom. While there, he wanted to show off his new light up shoes. However, with his mom’s guidance, he realized this would not be a good idea. That is because when he looked around, many of the kids did not have shoes or had shoes that were falling apart.

Nicholas then learned that some of the kids shared their shoes with a member of their family or missed school because another family member was wearing the shoes that day. He noticed that other children had sores on their feet from wearing shoes that were not the right size. Nicholas started by donating his used shoes and clothing to the homeless.

A few years later, when it came time to perform a service project for his Bar Mitzvah, Nicholas knew exactly what he wanted to do. That is when his charity, Gotta Have Sole Foundation, was born.

His charity focuses on providing new shoes to homeless kids to give them something that not only fits them, but is truly theirs. Since he began 5 years ago, his efforts have provided new shoes to over 45,000 children in homeless shelters in 38 states across the USA!

Nicholas also recently started a new program called, Serving Love, which provides sports footwear to disadvantaged children so they can participate in the sport of their choice.

Check out his amazing story below:

Here is an earlier interview with Nicholas:

Additional Resources:

Topics for Discussion:

  • What character traits does Nicholas exhibit?
  • What inspired Nicholas to take action and do something to help the homeless?
  • Why is it so important to treat everyone with respect and dignity?

Take Action:

Teacher Features:

  • Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for elementary school students.
  • Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for middle school students.
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