Twice a week for more than 30 years, Albert Lexie rose before dawn and rode buses for an hour and a half from Monessen to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. There he pushed his purple cart through the halls and shined the shoes of doctors, executives, and staff for two to five dollars a pair. From 1982 to 2013 he quietly gave his tips to the hospital’s Free Care Fund, which helps families who cannot afford their children’s care. By the time he retired, his gifts had added up to $202,000. He called the patients Albert’s kids. He died in 2018 at 76. Small, faithful gifts given over many years can add up to something extraordinary.
