Feet on their faith

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,” St. Paul wrote. He might well say the same about the hands of those who provide the shoes.

In South Florida, those hands belong to Loving Soles, a group of teens who collect thousands of shoes, then donate them to the Camillus House shelter for the homeless – more than 60,000 since they began in 2011.

“It shows how people want to help (those in need), even if they don't know them,” said Susanna Inguanzo, 19, one of three siblings who spearhead the annual effort, along with twin sister Sophia and younger brother Christopher.

Each January, Loving Soles members contact schools and municipalities to see who will take part. In March, they pick up the boxes of donated shoes, then sort them at the Inguanzo home in Miami Lakes.

This year, about 40 teens from more than 20 schools and about as many cities have donated shoes. One anonymous donor in Bal Harbour alone gave 500 pairs this year.

“It’s a month of hard work,” Sophia acknowledged. “But when you get family and friends together, it can be fun. Especially with pizza.”

The Inguanzos are actually the second generation, as it were, to lead Loving Soles. The charity was born at the Gutierrez home, next door to the Inguanzo house in Miami Lakes.

In 2011, the Gutierrez brothers – Eric, Alec and Nico – visited Camillus House and learned of the many needs of the homeless, including the lack of shoes. They decided to focus on that.

“We’re not cleaning feet like Jesus did, but we’re doing it symbolically,” said Eric, 26, now a resident physician at Mount Sinai Medical School on Miami Beach. “Plus, it feels cool.”

They launched a drive the following year, collecting 200 pairs. Eventually, the donations grew to 1,200 per year.

The Inguanzos, however, have astonished the Gutierrez family since they got involved in 2019. This year alone, the drive reaped 12,000 pairs of shoes.

“This is Loving Soles on steroids,” Ileana McGoohan, the Gutierrezes’ mother, exclaimed during the shoe collection in Miami Lakes May 6, 2024. “This family has taken the work to a whole other level.”

The 15 youths at that collection gave various motives for helping.

Salome Ariza said she knew the problem with shoes from her own family. “My cousins in the Dominican Republic have only one pair of shoes, and they're sandals,” she said.

Christian Fernández came out for Loving Soles in 2023 and came back for more this year. “If I needed something, I’d want somebody to help me out,” he said. “My mother always tells me to treat people the way I’d want to be treated.”

The campaign also amounts to a kind of payback, McGoohan said. “When my family came here from Cuba, they had no food or clothing, and Camillus House helped them with everything.”

Loving Soles is going through another transition as the older members leave for jobs and college. Both Sophia and Susanna are attending Florida State University.

So they’ve handed off leadership to brother Christopher, 17. He’ll share the reins with Jaylene Guerra, 17, another Loving Soles veteran.

And the two are ready. This summer, they also did a clothing drive for suits, ties, women’s blouses and skirts – a project called Suits for Success.

“I'm excited to take on the responsibility,” Christopher said. “I love to help people in need. I feel like a better person.”

Likewise, Eric Gutierrez’s younger brother, Nico, took part in the Loving Soles project this year. In two years, he expects to lead the campaign along with his cousin Melanie Munoz.

“I love the idea of giving to people,” said Nico, 15. “Whenever I see homeless people, I hate to see them without shoes or clothes.”

Loving Soles is even expanding beyond South Florida. At Florida State, where Sophia is attending on a service scholarship, she's organizing a local version of the charity in Tallahassee.