Every year, the halls of Fairlands Elementary School buzz with excitement as the Socktober event takes center stage, gifting thousands of socks to PUSD’s The Hanger and extending a helping hand to those in need.
“We donate the socks to PUSD’s [Pleasanton Unified School District’s] The Hanger. The socks go back to members of our community through social workers,” said event organizer and teacher Sophia Loughran-Smith.
The Hanger is an initiative of a Village High vocational needs classroom staffed by special needs students. They are powered by the Rotary Club of Tri-Valley.
“We collected over 4,000 this year, last year we collected 4,000, our highest being 5,400 pairs. We have been in really close contact with The Hanger this year and they are very eager to get these pairs of socks,” said Loughran-Smith.
The organizers of this event pride themselves on their unique impact of their fundraising on the community.
“Theres a lot of fundraisers that schools put on, but being the Socktober directly impacts students of PUSD, it’s a great impact because we see families in our classes being helped directly. Its a different way of asking for donations,” said fellow event organizer and teacher Victoria Burchard-Bloom.
From students, parents, and even teachers, 3,738 socks were donated to PUSD’s The Hanger. Some of these donations can be attributed to the distinctively direct impact on the community.
“A lot of times you see organizations just asking for money for it to go somewhere, then you don’t even see it impacting people. Its a different way we tell kids, we tell them that their one pair of socks can change another kid’s life,” said Burchard-Bloom.
The event is not just a fundraiser. Some classrooms have found value outside of its charitable functions.
“In kindergarten, it is used as a learning opportunity, when they’re still working on accurately counting. You’ll notice on the board the teachers often have the count written down so the kids can practice adding and counting,” said Burchard-Bloom.
Many claim that Socktober is not just about warm feet; it’s about warming hearts and building a community that cares.
“Its a great way for kids to walk the walk. We have adult socks, we have child socks, we have baby socks. We believe that this event has become a very important and helpful part of this community that everybody can benefit from,” said Loughran-Smith.
