Meet the Man Who's Lacing NYC's Homeless Community With Sneakers

Meet Andre McDonnell, the man responsible for lacing New York City's homeless community with new sneakers.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Last month, we covered the New York City nonprofit known as It's From the Sole. The organization, founded by Andre McDonnell, seeks to help the city's homeless community by lacing them up in fresh new sneakers, literally. Now,Sole Collector has put together a profile on McDonnell to better illustrate his charitable efforts. 

“There’s tons of people that want to help the homeless. But, they don’t want to deal with the homeless," McDonnell said, addressing the harsh reality of the situation. “I don’t want to do soup kitchens. I love sneakers. We want to take the sneaker culture and utilize it in a positive way."

Twice a week, McDonnell loads up a rolling duffel bag with gently used shoes and takes to the streets with one mission in mind: making life a little easier for NYC's homeless community. Many of the sneakers are gifted directly from sneaker brands, but It's From the Sole also accepts donations from the public. Visit Sole Collector for the rest of the interview.