My office has several charitable projects throughout the year, but the holiday season is the most busy. Over the summer we sorted stubs of crayons for a group that melts and recasts them for children in hospitals. For winter we do charities such as Toys for Tots.
We also started doing socks.
Studies have shown that socks are not normally included in clothing donations, so we collect new socks for the needy from November to December. It’s a great idea. Even if one doesn’t have a good fitting pair of shoes, a warm pair of socks on a winter night is a treasure. Also a person with unhealthy feet can wind up with other serious ailments. Feet need to be warm and dry.
Judging from the collections we’ve made so far, they will also be ridiculously fashionable. We have filled a donation bin three times over with every color imaginable, and we’re going for another refill before the lot is donated.
Until I started looking for socks to contribute, I had no idea there were so many new designs for socks. The colors and patterns are staggering, and the costs run from a few dollars to the heights of high income splurging. I tried to go simple for men and more flirty for women. Not having worn socks for some time (think business attire), the only time I wear socks is when I slather cream on them or cover a bandaged foot to keep from losing them in the sheets overnight. And who wants to wreck good socks with cream or bandage adhesive?
I still have a rag sock monkey stored away somewhere. You know the kind with the red heel which becomes the face and butt, with beige and grey elsewhere. Between that and putting one on a hand to entertain preschoolers, nobody really seems to think about socks that much. Unless you’re homeless and have none.
If you’re doing a clothing donation this holiday season, throw in some socks. Go grab a package somewhere and add it to the collection, for peace afoot and good heels for men.
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