When I was thinking of what I could do for James, so many things came up! He has such a big heart! One thing, though, that I know is personal to him is he loves fun socks. So I tried to think of how to make that into a service. My mom and I looked up a few things and found this information.
"When Socks are More Important than Food to the Homeless"
Socks are among the most needed items at homeless shelters, yet among the least-often donated. According to the Philadelphia-based nonprofit The Joy of Sox, even regular donors of clothing such as coats and pants will usually wear their own socks until they have holes and then throw them away. Because of the shortage, the nation’s homeless population is constantly at risk of serious foot disease and, during winter months, they are in severe danger posed by the cold.
“One homeless man named Kiwi told me socks are more important than food. He said that he knows of many pantries and shelters where he can get food, but that there’s no way he can walk the streets of Toronto without socks.”
Then we found this graphic which was pretty eye opening. We couldn't get it to open up bigger, so hopefully you can see it. If not, here's the link. https://www.communitywestfoundation.org/blog/infographic-why-socks-are-so-important-to-the-homeless
So we did a sock drive! We asked people to donate money to buy socks, and bought a bunch of different socks, even kids socks! Some were decorative in James' honor (we couldn't find Lakers socks here in Omaha, sorry) and some were just thick and warm. I also realized that at the beginning of December my mom bought Xoe and I an advent calendar with a sock for each day to wear. About 3 or 4 days in, I realized I should give my socks to the homeless. They need it more than I do. So those are the ones that are rolled up.
We took the big box to the homeless shelter and they were so grateful! I hope these socks can warm some feet this winter. I can't imagine walking around in this cold all day. And thanks James for being such a great uncle. I know you would have loved this service.
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