He’s been brushing, shining, and polishing shoes for more
than a quarter century, earning $5 per shine at the Children’s
Hospital of Pittsburgh.
And now, Albert Lexie is paying it forward, giving the
$200,000 in tips he’s earned back to the hospital’s sick
children.
The philanthropic shoeshine is using the tip money – and more
than a third of his lifetime salary – to help ailing children whose
parents could not otherwise afford treatment.
Mr Lexie who earns only
$10,000 a
year, told WTAE-TV That
most customers tip him $1 and some give him an extra $2 for the $5
service.
He’s been shining shoes in the
hospital lobby since 1982.
He said that one of the
hospital’s physicians gave him a $50 bill for Christmas.
All of the extra tips go to
the Free Care Fund,
which ensures any sick child can get the care they
need, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.
Dr Joseph Carcillo said that
Mr Lexie has donated more than a third of his lifetime salary to
the fund. 'I think he does it because he loves the kids,' he told
the station.
Mr Lexie has been shining
shoes since the 1950s, using the same shoeshine box he built in his
high school shop class in the 1950s. He said: 'It's good to be a
hero.'
According to his biography on
the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Mr Lexie drives about an
hour and a half to get from his home in Monessen, Pennsylvania to
the hospital.
He was honored in 2006 for
raising $100,000 for ‘Albert’s Kids.’ At the time, a shoeshine cost
$3, and was also honored in 2001, receiving an Outstanding
Philanthropist Award from the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the
Association of Fundraising Professionals.
The Foundation for a Better
Life has also featured him on a billboard which read: ‘Donated
$100,000 in tips to help kids. Charity: Pass it on.’
The shoeshine also has a
children’s book out, entitled ‘Albert’s Kids: The Heroic Work of
Shining Shoes for Sick Children.’