Sock Mountain program a success

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on December 14, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Various organizations gathered at Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre this week to visit their annual Sock Mountain and take what they needed for their clients.
After collecting socks for the last month though Sock It To ‘Em with the help of schools and by donations dropped off at the centre, Nord-Bridge opened its doors Thursday to some of the various organizations that help people in need.
A handful of students of students from Winston Churchill High School helped put the socks together to create Sock Mountain and representatives of Angel Tree, Harbour House, Streets Alive, the homeless shelter and Wood Homes took from it what they needed.
Gail Petrie, campaign founder, told the Herald that during the 24th year of the campaign, they were able to collect over 6,000 pairs of socks.
“This year we figured we’ve got about 6,500 pairs of socks. So, we figure our totals for 24 years is almost 200,000 pairs of socks,” said Petrie.
Charlene Kocken, senior systems navigator at Nord-Bridge Senior Centre, said some of the schools have become very creative with the ways they incite their students to collect the socks.
“Coalhurst Elementary came yesterday and dropped off their socks and the principal had made it into a contest of who could get the most socks and then they had them up in the ceiling as a socks raining from the sky during one of their assembly and he says it was just a blast,” said Kocken.
Petrie added that another elementary school had a few incentives from their principal and vice-principal to collect as many socks as possible.
“Westminster school, which is a very small school, they collected 521 pairs of socks and the principal said to them if you collect more socks she would dress up like Grinch and they had her  dance for them and the kids were overly excited,” said Petrie.
 She added that some schools had sock offs, where students had an opportunity to dance in their socks.
Since not everyone purchased socks to be donated but instead donated money towards the mountain, Kocken said they were very grateful for those who took the time to stop by in person.
“Due to the postal strike, the unions have been coming around and dropping off cheques, people have also been coming up with money some with $50 and $100 donations and dropping those off as well,” said Kocken.
She said that they will be waiting a little bit before purchasing extra socks with the funds collected to make sure those who need socks can have some more at a different point of the year as well.
“What we do is we wait until the summer and Gail and I usually go out to couple stores in Coaldale and shop there with the money and we distribute those socks throughout these agencies in the summer so it still gets them through to the next year,” said Kocken.

3
-2