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About 300
pairs of shoes await distribution to those in need; a bar
mitzvah service project for Kyle Lurie. His mom, Debbie,
helped Kyle with the project.
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As an eighth-grade student at Bayside
Middle School, Kyle Lurie does not see many people who lack for
material possessions. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t aware that
others in the Milwaukee area are in need.
As part of fulfilling his bar mitzvah
obligations, the 13-year-old from Fox Point has started an
organization with his mom, Debbie, called Getting Back on Your Feet.
The mother-son team has collected some 300 pairs of shoes to donate to
three area human service agencies: the Grand Avenue Club in Milwaukee,
Lad Lake in Dousman and Advocates of Ozaukee. "I thought it would
have a good, long-term effect that could continue to help people for
many years to come," Kyle says. "I see a lot of kids at my
school with a lot of things.
"Doing a food drive would have
been OK, but this will have a more long-lasting effect," he says.
The idea for Getting Back on Your Feet
came to Kyle from Rabbi Yoseph Samuels, who tutored the young man for
his bar mitzvah. Samuels’ mother, who lives in New York City, is
involved in a similar project designed to help those in need while
being sensitive to maintain their dignity.
Debbie Lurie says she and her son chose
the three organizations to which they are supplying shoes because,
"they just don’t hand over items to people. They help people
get back on their feet and become productive members of society."
The Lurie family so far has received
new, donated shoes from A Shoe Affair in Mequon, Hecker’s Shoes,
Whitefish Bay; and Piggy Toes and O&I, children’s and women’s
boutiques in Chicago. Kyle says his favorite part of the project is
dropping off the shoes and seeing the reaction on people’s faces.
Getting Back on Your Feet is not the
only way Kyle is helping his community. He also is active in Peers
Achieving Life Skills, or PALS for short, which has students like him
helping others who have disabilities. "He is a very sensitive,
caring young man," his mother says.
Kyle, who is contemplating a career in
business, is using his charitable project to polish such skills as
tracking inventory (shoes) and the logistics of picking up and
delivering a product.
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