Every October, Collinsville Middle School takes part in the national Socktober effort to collect socks and personal essentials for homeless people in our community. This year the collection resulted in a truckload of items donated in early November to the State Park-based charity Making a Difference.
The Socktober movement was started a few years ago by Kid President creator Brad Montague to help draw attention to the needs of the homeless population in America. The timing of the collection each year coincides with the arrival of cold weather months. Kid President appears in a series of YouTube videos designed to encourage kids to work together to change the world.
According to the Socktober website, “Every night in the United States an estimated 600,000 people live on the streets. This October, SoulPancake and Kid President want 2 million people to prove that even the smallest acts of love, like donating a pair of socks, can make a big difference in the lives of our neighbors who are homeless.”
In our community, Making a Difference is a non-for-profit organization that distributes items to local charities every Wednesday & Saturday. Their mission is to feed, clothe and minister to the homeless. Making a Difference says, “We provide our homeless friends with essential everyday items that most of us take for granted. Something small to us is HUGE to them.”
In addition to new socks, CMS students donated new hats, gloves, scarves, jackets, clothes, blankets, non perishable food items, personal items like hairbrushes and toiletries, such as soap and deodorant. Ms. Jackstadt and Ms. Goodson collected the items in their classrooms.
The CMS Hooloos were instrumental in orchestrating the 2017 Socktober project. Hooloos are in invitation only group of 7th grade students whose behavior is outstanding in the classroom, the hallway and all around school. The Hooloos were started as a way to recognize and promote positive behavior. Each year, the Hooloos do several service projects to give back to the community.