JOIN Us TO HELP DONATE 10,000 PAIRS OF SOCKS TO THOSE IN NEED
Social media can be a powerful tool. More of us need to use it for good.
Last year, my wife and I visited a sporting goods store that was going out of business. I went mainly to scoop up a pile of deeply discounted Timberlands to sell on eBay. (Yay, capitalism!) But while we were there we noticed that Nike athletic shoes in children’s sizes had been marked down from $70 to $12. We decided to buy five pair and donate them to the Jackson Interfaith Shelter.
I suggested we post about it on Facebook and ask some of our friends to join us. But after saying it out loud, I hesitated to do so. We truly weren’t looking for attention for such a small deed. I mean, 60 bucks plus tax isn’t a major donation. Still, I knew by posting about it that we could make a bigger impact.
It worked. We posted about it and several friends chimed in and pledged to give us some money if we’d pick up some shoes for them. With very little effort on our part, we ended up dropping almost 40 pairs of shoes off at the shelter.
Why am I telling you this story? Basically, to introduce an idea I have had for some time. I’m posting about it now — halfway through winter — because I didn’t want it to get lost during the holiday season. It is half-baked with no logo or name. It’s simply an attempt to help.
Homeless shelters are almost always in need of both shoes and socks. Social Sound just purchased 100 pairs of socks to donate to those in need this winter. We are looking for 99 businesses and/or individuals to join us in doing so.
It’s really easy to participate. Just pick an online site that sells socks, purchase 100 pairs — men’s, women’s, children’s, whatever — and ship them to us. (We will gladly mention your business in a social media post as a way of saying thanks. Just make sure you show up on the return address or the elsewhere on the package somehow.) We will take it from there and make sure those socks end up on feet that need them. If we give the local shelter more socks than they can handle then we’ll drive socks to another shelter.
This idea can’t fail. Even if only nine of you join us, well, that’s 1,000 pairs of socks. That’s something. But if one contributor turns into 100, well, that would be 10,000 pairs of socks. That would make a difference in a big way.
Thanks for reading.