13-year-old's lifetime of charitable acts

Sharon resident Matthew Shore has been pretty busy during his 13 years. He is a First Degree Black Belt at Personal Best Karate, plays soccer and is a Peer Leader at Sharon Middle School. Oh, and he also constantly raises funds, donations and awareness for causes.

“Matthew has always cared about the well-being of others,” said his mother, Amy Shore.

According to his mother, when he was in kindergarten, he spearheaded a car wash at school to support victims of the tornado in Springfield. He staged with a couple friends a lemonade stand to raise money for the Boston One Fund, he has had pop-up craft sales in town to raise funds for social causes. He has raised money with Trick or Treat for UNICEF.

Master Saeed Mansour has been Shore’s karate instructor for the past five years and has always noticed that benevolent spirit about him. “Matthew has always been a giving student and extends himself to charity,” Mansour said.

Shore even brought attention to accidents in aid for others. “We had a near-miss accident when his armoire tipped over on him,” said Amy Shore. “Our family, along with Matthew, has shared our story and did a PSA with the Consumer Product Safety Commission on tip-over safety which may have saved children’s lives and spared many from pain and injury.”

Shore said he has come across causes and has always wanted to help. Even at school where he is a Peer Leader, he teaches other students about bullying, tough situations and stereotypes.

Shore is wrapping up one of his biggest projects to date: collecting coats for those in need for his Bar Mitzvah project and 13th birthday celebration. He partnered with Anton’s Cleaners in their Coats for Kids Campaign and has so for collected nearly 100 gently worn or new winter coats that will keep infants, children and adults warm this season.

“We started the project in September and I was thinking how could we help the homeless veterans in the wintertime because it starts to get cold,” said Shore. “We couldn’t find a charity that donated just to veterans, but we found Anton’s Cleaners Coats for Kids project and decided to work with them.”

A donation box is at Personal Best Karate in Foxboro, 36 Commercial Street at the Ocean State Job Lot Plaza, where he will continue to take donations until Dec. 15 officially, but if more come in after that date he will find them homes.

Mansour said Shore’s dedication is unheard of for a 13-year-old. “Matthew doesn’t just put out a box for donations,” Mansour explained. “He checks it every day. If he sees that he’s low on donations he leaves sticky notes on my desk to remind me to send an email or make announcements. He takes it to the next level.”