Just the right shoe was just the right fit for a bar mitzvah service project chosen by Will Labowitz of Glencoe.
Will, who turned 13 on June 16 and is a rising Central School eighth grader, accompanied his family on June 14 to deliver athletic shoes and accessories, along with a monetary donation, to Ignite’s Belfort House and Bronzeville Youth Shelter in Chicago.
Ignite serves unaccompanied youth aged 14 through 26 who are experiencing housing instability or homelessness. The donations to benefit Ignite clients were made possible by the service project Will selected for his bar mitzvah.
The project had a fitness theme since Will, who pursues track and field, enjoys running for exercise. Athletic shoes and accessories donated to homeless youth and young adults residing at a shelter can, “take them anywhere,” Will said. “A shoe can basically take you anywhere.”
17 Ignite shelter recipients were gifted with athletic shoes ordered for their size along with new socks, a water bottle with drink flavoring and running headphones plus necessary charger.
A drawstring bag in vibrant colors helped to contain the items but not the enthusiasm demonstrated by delighted recipients.
“I wasn’t expecting all this,” said a smiling Syniah, 19, a resident whose surname is being kept unnamed. “This is really good, I like getting stuff of quality, this stuff is expensive.”
To Will, “Thank you, a lot,” Syniah said.
Will’s family started planning the bar mitzvah about a year and a half ago.
“We actually hired Flow Entertainment to be our (bar mitzvah) emcee and DJ,” said Will’s mother Sara Labowitz. “They have this foundation called K.W.O.E. Foundation and they can help you do a mitzvah (good deed) with purpose.”
Flow Entertainment, Inc. of Chicago was founded by CEO Kareem K.W.O.E. Wells. Its K.W.O.E. foundation encourages parties and celebrations incorporating philanthropy to positively impact recipients in south and west portions of Chicago.
“This is bigger than I think we ever could have done ourselves,” Sara Labowitz said.
“We look forward to what comes next for him,” Will’s mother added.
Thanks to family and friends, Will raised approximately $7,000, half of which went to ordering the running kits and the other half donated in the form of checks to Ignite.
As part of the bar mitzvah project, the Labowitz family — including Will’s twin siblings Max and Stella, 9, rising fourth graders — participated in the sixth annual North Suburban YMCA Healthy Kids Day 5K Run/Walk last May 13 in Northbrook. That Saturday run/walk was the family’s second race.
In a shout out to the NSYMCA, Sara Labowitz said, “Thank you for being our vehicle to raise this money.”
Fast track to June 14, Will’s father David Labowitz said, “There’s more than just a meaning of athletics and exercise for this apparel, it’s about taking the step in the right direction and the fact that he (Will) was able to really do this and was able to deliver such an important and impactful gift … means a lot.”
Doug Mowery, managing director of residential and clinical programs for Ignite said, “A pair of shoes can take you anywhere, it can take you to a job interview, it can take you to enroll in school, it could take you to your cross country practices.
“A pair of shoes has a lot of meaning so donating something like that is crucial to our young people,” Mowery said. “This kind of outreach is amazing.”
Also attending the donation were Alexis Wells-Loneman, who works in management for the K.W.O.E. Foundation, and Tammy Adams, residential milieu manager, who supervises the commons area at the shelter.
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“What we always pride ourselves in is trying to build bridges,” Wells-Loneman said about the K.W.O.E organization. “We want to build bridges across Chicago and show people that we’re really all interconnected, and we’re really trying to make the city better as a whole and that takes everybody.
“It’s not just one community’s problem, it’s a problem for a whole city so we want to make sure that we’re working together,” Wells-Loneman added. “I think it’s really important to start them at a young age.”
Tammy Adams shook Will’s hand in gratitude and said the headphones were top wish list items.
“Now they have headphones,” Adams said, “they’re going to get a lot of use out of them. They’re going to get up and get motivated to get moving a little bit more.
“The clients are excited,” Adams added. “They love the gifts.”
Also visit https://www.nsymca.org.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.