It is very common that we donate clothes, blankets, food, cash and more to the homeless. Do you think socks are donated too?
Socks might seem too little to be donated but it is an important surviving element for the homeless. Along with suffering in winter, homeless people suffer while walking miles to miles without socks.
To provide a little ease to them, you can donate socks too. But are you wondering where can you donate used socks for the homeless? You will get the answer in this article with much more information.
Where Can I Donate Used Socks for the Homeless?
You can donate used socks for the homeless via some organizations. There are some organizations like Goodwill that accept used socks for donation. You can also donate the used socks to the homeless near your home or workplace.
Other organizations like Knock Knock, Give a Sock, Sock It to ‘Em, The Joy of Sox, Sock It to Homeless, etc., accepts new socks as donations for homeless people.
Organization That Accepts Donated Used Socks
Goodwill: This organization accepts the gently used socks that you donate. It is an American non-profit large company. It has expanded its company throughout 33 states in the United States and Canada.
It not only accepts socks but also clothes, shoes, coats, and accessories if you want to donate. They are serving people in need for around 130 years now!
Organizations That Accept Donated New Socks
Knock Knock, Give a Sock: This organization widely focuses on the needs of the homeless. They provide fresh socks to the homeless by collecting them from you. Their motto is turning transactions into interaction.
They focus on humanizing homelessness by providing one sock at a time. They want to connect the homeless people with the people with homes.
Sock It to Homelessness: This organization primarily works with shelters in New Your City and New Jersey. They only focus on fulfilling the sock needs of homeless people. They do not accept cash donations.
As they are concerned about homeless people, they only take new socks for hygienic reasons. They does not compromise the safety of homeless people.
The Joy of Sox: Just like the above organizations, The Joy of Sox also started receiving socks donations in deep concern for the homeless. They are helping the homeless since day 1.
The organization collects socks from camps, schools, and service clubs and distributes them among the homeless needy people. They also raise funds for the homeless.
Sock It to ‘Em: This organization is a non-profit organization. It has been doing wonderful work since the day it started its journey. It arranges campaigns, and distributes socks to individuals, in the shelters, veteran groups, etc.
They even donated to an entire under-priviledge school. They have a lot of facilities which lets you be involved with their good work too.
How Can I Contact The Organizations?
For your ease, the contact information of the organizations I have talked about above is listed below. You can pick whichever organization you like and donate there by contacting them.
Goodwill
Main office: (616) 532-4200 or 1-800-294-4742 (Toll-Free)
For donation guidelines, attended donation centers, or store locations and hours, call at 1-800-294-4742 (Toll-Free)
For Home Pickup: (616) 532-4200 ext. 157 or 158.
Knock Knock, Give a Sock
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 917 885 6983
Sock It to Homelessness
This organization accepts donations time-to-time. And whenever they are not accepting donations, they keep the contact closed. So keep an eye on the website to stay updated.
Website: www.sockittohomelessness.com.
The Joy of Socks
Office: 610-688-3318, Fax: 610-788-2133
Office address: 580 Lindsey Drive, Ste 150, Radnor, PA 19087-2339, USA.
Sock It to ‘Em
Phone: (303) 929-0556
Address: 7150 Townsend Drive, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130, USA.
When Can I Donate Socks?
It is better if you donate the socks when it is needed the most. It is winter when the homeless people suffer the most. In this period, their survival gets tough day by day. Even though people might donate coats and blankets, socks are ignored to be donated.
So if you want to donate socks for the homeless, choose the time of the cold season. Around this season, the campaigns of sock donation and many socks collection movements take place. So you can just be a part of them and choose that time to donate your socks.
Is it Ethical to Donate Socks?
Donating socks is an ethical step to take. I can provide some reasons here. Homeless men, women and kids are always in need of clothes, food and shelter.
In cold weather, the needy homeless suffer to keep themselves warm. So when you donate socks, they can keep themselves warm in them. They will not get cold feet. For the babies and the old, socks are like blessings.
Also, we know that reusing is a sustainable process that is good for the environment too. So when you donate socks to homeless people, the socks are being reused and it’s also helping the environment.
So I hope I could show you how it is an ethical step to take for both human beings’ lives and the environment.
Which Socks Cannot be Donated?
If you are about to donate new socks that don’t fit you or you just decided to donate them, then there are no restrictions. You can donate them freely as they are already new, fresh and hygienic.
But if you donate your used socks, you should be careful about some things I’m listing below.
- Do not donate overly worn socks: The socks you have worn more than they should have been worn, are unhygienic and can cause feet disease to other feet.
- Do not donate holey socks: The reason for not donating holey socks is obvious. Holey socks help you out during the winter so little that it can be counted as no help at all.
- Do not donate your used socks if you have any skin disease: Some skin diseases are spreadable through touch and used clothes. So to avoid infecting the homeless with your disease, avoid donating used socks. Even though you wash them, the germs can still be there.
So it is highly suggested not to donate those socks.
How to Prepare My Used Socks to Donate?
If your socks are gently used you can donate the socks to the homeless. But make sure to wash them properly and fix any problems that the socks might have.
Sometimes expensive socks can be torn accidentally. In this case, when you donate the socks, make sure to sew the tears properly and then donate them.
It is also recommended to prepare the socks just the way you would prepare for yourself.
Conclusion
Donating socks can be a very thoughtful gesture. As you have looked out for it, I can bet you are a kind human being!
The organizations listed above are also very reliable organizations that can distribute your donated socks fairly among the homeless people. You can try them to make your donation.
I hope I could help you with the answer to where can you donate your used socks.
For More:
