Cabrini College Students and The Joy of Sox Distribute New Socks to the Homeless for “Socks For the Homeless Day”
(PRWEB) February 18, 2015 -- Cabrini College students worked with local non-profit The Joy of Sox® to deliver 7,340 pairs of new socks to the homeless of the Philadelphia region in conjunction with Pennsylvania’s “Socks for the Homeless Day” – Valentine’s Day, February 14th.
On a holiday tied to chocolate candy and candy hearts, why socks for the homeless on Valentine’s Day? “People are usually generous between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, but after the new year donations just dry up,” says Tom Costello Jr., founder and chief sock person at The Joy of Sox. “The idea was that in addition to calling your Mom or giving a loved one flowers on Valentine’s Day, to also remember the homeless during this cold weather and donate socks to a shelter or help support a nonprofit that does.
Earlier in the semester, 20 Cabrini students helped sort and pack the socks into the boxes to get ready for distribution. Today, 8 Cabrini students loaded up 4 vans and spread out across the region delivering 7,340 pairs of new socks to 18 shelters. In addition, the students picked up about 3,500 pairs of new socks that had been collected during sock drives by school and church groups and caring individuals. The new socks will be sorted and distributed later in the month.
Costello continues, “With about 10,000 homeless in the Philadelphia area and many of them wearing their socks 24/7 they usually need a new pair at least once a month. So these new socks will go a long way to help make homeless toes happy toes.”
Costello has learned a lot from the men and women he helps on the streets since he founded The Joy of Sox. “The homeless rarely get donations of new socks, which can be harder to get than food at shelters,” says Costello. Since many homeless often don’t receive new socks, they wind up wearing their old wet socks 24/7, which can result in serious health conditions, including fungus, infections, and gangrene.
“Socks for the Homeless Day” is beginning to catch on as resolutions or proclamations have already been passed in Pennsylvania, New York and North Dakota. These legislative acts were initiated by The Joy of Sox and sponsored in Pennsylvania by Sen. Daylin Leach, in New York by Assemblyman Brian Curran, and in North Dakota by Gov. Jack Dalrymple.
For more information about The Joy of Sox, please contact, Tom Costello, Jr, founder and Chief Sock Person, The Joy Of Sox, 610-745-1075.
About The Joy of Sox®. The Joy of Sox is a locally founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of providing joy to the homeless by giving them new socks. Started in 2010, they have supplied over 135,250 pairs new socks to facilities for the homeless in 20 states and three countries.
About Cabrini College. Cabrini College is a coeducational Roman Catholic residential liberal arts college in Radnor, Pennsylvania, founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957. It was one of the first colleges in the United States to make community service a graduation requirement. Undergraduate and graduate enrollment is 2,800.
http://www.TheJoyOfSox.org
http://www.Facebook.com/TheJoyOfSoxOrg
http://www.YouTube.com/TheJoyOfSox
http://www.Cabrini.edu
Tom Costello Jr, The Joy of Sox, http://www.TheJoyOfSox.org, +1 610-688-3318, [email protected]
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