  
Kyle Lurie is touching the hearts and souls of hundreds of children throughout the Milwaukee metropolitan area, one foot at a time. And it all began simply. Lurie, an eighth-grader at Bayside Middle School, was trying on new shoes last fall, getting ready for the new school year. "I am always happy when I get something new, and I wondered about the kids who are less fortunate," said Lurie, whose thought led him to ponder ways he could make a difference in their lives. "I want to give joy back to kids. I have enough. I want them to feel like they are actually important." So Lurie, then 13, began collecting shoes. He collected little ones, big ones, fancy ones and plain ones. The endeavor soon spun into his bar mitzvah charity project. After that, it took on a life of its own as Lurie amassed 400 pairs of new shoes. Marcia Hecker of Hecker's Shoe Store in Whitefish Bay said she was more than happy to donate to the cause. "I think it's wonderful," said Hecker, who donated about 75 pairs of shoes. "It's very special that a young man would be interested in doing something like this for the community. . . . This child has a good heart, and I was touched by it." Lurie's goal is to touch the hearts of others. His first recipients were dozens of kids at a shelter for women and children seeking safety from domestic violence; next were the children of adults who are dealing with mental illness. But the largest contribution to date was to the children of the Lad Lake agency, many of whom are aging out of the foster care system and are struggling to survive on their own. "This is hard to believe," said Juanita Barnes, an 18-year-old in the agency's independent living program, who sifted through dozens of boxes in Lurie's garage to find the perfect pair of sneakers for her 3-year-old daughter, Janiya. "This will really help. It's really hard to buy shoes and clothes," Barnes said. Kenneth Clark, 20, who aged out of foster care and is living on his own, picked out a pair of blue-and-white running shoes. "This is exciting," Clark said. "It shows that people care." Laura Wojciuk, a resource manager for Lad Lake, which provides 24-hour treatment, education and counseling for adolescent boys, as well as counseling for struggling and troubled families, said the donation is unusual. "This is extremely special because the shoes are brand new," she said. "Donations are the backbone of our program. We couldn't function without them. We can't afford, as a program, to give them new clothes and shoes." Dominique Riggins, who is currently in foster care, was amazed when he saw that Lurie is a child. "When they said we had to wait until he got out of school, at first I didn't understand," said Riggins, 18. "When he came around the corner, it caught me off guard. It's hard to imagine that an eighth-grader would think to do something like this. It's nice to see that people have kind hearts to donate to people like us." And Lurie is still collecting. He has started a non-profit agency, called Getting Back on Your Feet, with hopes that young people will have "a new turnaround to a better life." Read this article at: www.jsonline.com |
 
|
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel