More than 34,000 pairs of new socks are now warming the feet of people experiencing homelessness in the Philadelphia area, due in part to the Cabrini community’s generosity.
Through the Give Love, Give Socks, Give Joy campaign, 175 donors contributed nearly $3,000 in the days leading up to February 14 to purchase new socks. On Valentine’s Day—Socks for the Homeless Day in Pennsylvania—Cabrini students and staff volunteers worked with The Joy of Sox, a nonprofit based in Phoenixville, PA, to load up University vans with the organization’s signature purple bags brimming with the new socks.
Tom Costello Jr., Chief Sock Person and Founder of The Joy of Sox, has embarked on a mission to officially designate February 14 as National Socks for the Homeless Day. In additional to Pennsylvania, his resolution has passed in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and North Dakota. He’s working on California, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Because donations tend to decrease after the holidays, according to Costello, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time of year to Give Love, Give Socks, and Give Hope. This year, volunteers from Cabrini made sock deliveries to more than 20 organizations in West Chester, Philadelphia, and Chester, PA, as well as Camden and Trenton, NJ.