A 13-year-old Milton woman helps give greater than 4,000 socks to a Boston homeless shelter this vacation season — an annual custom that has taken off during the last 10 years.
Sophia’s Socks for the Homeless, a drive amassing new socks for New England’s largest day shelter St. Francis Home, was began by then-4-year-old Sophia Casini and her household in 2015.
That yr, the drive aimed to gather 100 pairs of socks. They collected 282 pairs — and took off from there.
The subsequent yr, the drive greater than tripled the variety of socks. 5 years in, the sock depend had exploded to over 10 occasions the unique donation.
Ten years later for this yr’s drive, the teenager’s sock drive introduced in an all-time excessive of 4,715 pairs.
The anniversary is a giant milestone for the drive, St. Francis workers stated, noting that Sophia’s efforts reveals how “one small act of kindness can inspire sustained, tangible change.”
Sophia and others delivered carloads of socks, together with cold-weather clothes and kit, to ready shelter workers Sunday morning. Over the past decade, St. Francis Home workers stated, the younger woman’s effort has led to whole donations of greater than 26,000 socks.
The drive took donations this yr via three “sock box” drop places, together with presents via Venmo to purchase new socks, based on the Sophia’s Socks for the Homeless Instagram account.
“Every pair of socks counts!” Sophia wrote on Instagram in an October name for donations this yr.
St. Francis Home, situated in downtown Boston, serves greater than 7,000 folks every year with shelter, meals, clothes and “pathways to stability for adults experiencing homelessness and poverty,” the shelter stated.
“New socks are one of the most requested items at homeless shelters, providing comfort, warmth, and dignity to individuals in need,” St. Francis workers stated, including, “(Sophia’s) annual sock drive highlights the power of community action and youth leadership in addressing homelessness.”
