After a long day at work in Soho, Andre McDonnell makes his daily trip to Grand Central Terminal, a roomy North Face travel bag in tow — but he’s not hopping on a commuter train to Connecticut.
He’s scouring the station and surrounding streets in search of people in need.
That bag? It’s stocked with a supply of assorted sneakers, socks, baseball caps and sweatshirts McDonnell hands out, free of charge.
“Here you go, man,” says McDonnell, 40, handing over a pair of highly coveted high-top gold TS Lite AMR sneakers with leopard print embellishment to Pete, a homeless man with a stack of brown cardboard for a bed. “I got a pair of socks, too. You want a pillow? It looks like you could use one.”
From his natty dress, you wouldn’t guess that McDonnell spends his free time clothing the homeless. But that’s exactly what he does after his 9-to-5 shift ends as head sales associate at menswear shop Atrium.
It was three years ago, while playing basketball with friends, that McDonnell got the idea for his one-man nonprofit organization, “It’s From the Sole.”
“I saw a homeless guy with no shoes on,” recalls McDonnell. “So I left the ballgame, took off my shoes and offered him my sneakers and he took them with a smile. As I walked away, I felt the gravel under my own feet, and it just hit me there has to be something more that I can do.”
Since then, he’s gained the support of brands such as Adidas and North Face — which donate items left over from photo shoots. Celebrity stylists also donate gently used threads, as do basketball players such as Carmelo Anthony, Al Harrington and Chauncey Billups.
“I wash them at my local laundromat,” explains McDonnell, who replaces the shoestrings and soles before distributing the old sneakers. (His weekly out-of-pocket expenses are about $50 to $60; on an average week, he gives out dozens of pairs.)
To make his day more efficient, McDonnell hits three major spots he calls “The Love Triangle” — the areas around Grand Central Terminal, Port Authority and Union Square.
Outside of Junior’s Restaurant in Grand Central Terminal, McDonnell spots a homeless man named Harold sitting on a bench with bare feet, as commuters pass by with barely a glance. On bended knees, McDonnell offers him a pair of Adidas and a clean pair of socks. Harold is overjoyed.
“Thank you, man,” says Harold, offering McDonnell a soldier’s salute. “I haven’t had a new pair of shoes in a very long time. This means a lot.”
Junior’s manager Ross Hoffman, who witnesses the exchange, is so taken aback, he offers McDonnell a slice of cheesecake.
“I think that what he is doing is great!” says Hoffman. “I have never seen anybody do this before. It’s moving.”
But for McDonnell, helping others is reward enough.
“The best feeling is to see a homeless person in the shoes I gave them,” he says. “I know that they appreciate it, and it just may make their walk in life just a bit easier.”
To donate your old unwanted sneakers, sweaters or just a pack of socks, contact Andre McDonnell at Andre@itsfromthesole.org.
